Good evening, everybody! A couple of months ago, Zenbassoon did this WFD story, which tied in nicely with a recipe I’d already photographed. It’s definitely too hot here to turn on the oven, but I expect to enjoy this again when it’s cooler and I can get a good deal on crabmeat. It’s one of my go-to company meals when I know I don’t have any guests with shellfish allergies.
Don’t remember when I first got the idea to put deviled crab into pasta shells, but I’ve made it several times with different sauces, and it’s always tasty. For the latest version, I tried a vodka cream sauce, which turned out pretty darn well.
Deviled crab (can be mixed in advance; loosely based on a recipe from the newspaper)
- 1 pound crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ onion, peeled and finely chopped
- ½ green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp bay seasoning (such as Old Bay)
- 1 tsp Creole seasoning
- 24 buttery crackers (Ritz or club), crushed into fine crumbs
Melt butter in medium skillet; add onion and green pepper and sauté until soft. Set aside to cool. Combine crab, mayo, beaten egg, cream, Worcestershire, seasonings and cracker crumbs in medium mixing bowl; add onion and green pepper when cooled. Can cover and refrigerate at this point.
Vodka cream sauce (from AllRecipes.com)
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup vodka
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup heavy cream
Melt butter in large skillet; add onion and cook on medium heat until soft and slightly browned (about 7 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low, add vodka and cook 10 minutes; add tomatoes and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream and cook 30 minutes more, still stirring occasionally.
During the last 30 minutes of simmering the sauce, cook 20-24 large pasta shells according to package directions. Place in cold water until ready to assemble, then drain.
Assembly: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 6x10 casserole with non-stick spray and place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Fill pasta shells with crab mixture (I like to use an iced teaspoon) and nestle snugly into casserole. Won’t lie, this can be a pretty messy process.
Pour remaining sauce on top and bake for 20-25 minutes. If there is remaining crab mixture, I like to put it in a small ovenproof dish, top with buttered crumbs and bake along with the shells, then scoop up with crackers or chips.
What’s for dinner at your place?