Spicy Crab Linguine with Mustard, Crème Fraîche and Herbs

By David Tanis

Spicy Crab Linguine with Mustard, Crème Fraîche and Herbs
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(621)
Comments
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This pasta dish is impressive, but it is barely any work at all, ideal for an impromptu gathering. The sauce is just warm crème fraîche, highly seasoned, along with a shower of herbs, and just enough green chile to cut the richness. (If you don’t want chile, increase the mustard and black pepper, and add lime zest.) Obviously, you’ll want the freshest sweetest crabmeat available. Substitute lobster if you can’t get crab, or use small shrimp, briefly cooked in butter, and feel free to vary the herbs — basil, mint, dill or chervil would be most welcome.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1pound linguine
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1cup crème fraîche
  • 3tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 1pound cooked crab meat, lump if possible
  • 1serrano or jalapeño chile, seeds removed and finely chopped, or less to taste
  • 2tablespoons finely cut chives
  • 6scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
  • 1tablespoon tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
  • Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

428 calories; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 536 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put a large pot of water on to boil. Add linguine and a generous amount of salt and cook until al dente.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a wide skillet, warm the crème fraîche over medium heat. Stir in mustard and cayenne and season with salt and pepper. Add crab meat, stir to coat, and heat through.

  3. Step 3

    Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss gently to coat pasta, taking care not to break up the crab meat too much. Add the chile, chives, scallions and tarragon and toss to coat. Transfer to a warm serving dish and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Ratings

5 out of 5
621 user ratings
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Comments

Douglas Branch

Oh! Forgot to say in my last note! It seemed to be lacking a little something when we started eating, so I gave everybody a lemon wedge. The shrinking of lemon made a really big difference. I wouldn't omit that.

Dan Clements

This has become one of our go to recipes. It is absolutely delicious with wonderful, fresh Dungeness crab from our fish monger and fresh pasta that we make. My wife and I usually have this dish for the two of us. We cut the pasta in half and go with the full sauce recipe.

Nordy

Love this recipe! My only advice is that if you're expecting to have leftovers, up your sauce-to-pasta ratio. The fresh pasta I used absorbed a good amount of the sauce, so the leftovers the next day seemed a bit dry. But what we ate night-of was so so good!

Carole

Other than omitting the tarragon because we don’t care for it, this dish is amazing as is. It’s subtlety saucy as an Italian pasta and packed with flavor. And it comes together quickly once all the ingredients are prepped. This is a $30 per plate pasta at a fancy place; make it for yourself.

Kathy

A waste of crab-next time I’ll use stronger flavored shrimp-we catch our own Dungeness crab in season -and had plenty of it-so I’ll stick to crab cakes, crab Louie, crab omelets, crab toast and just strait in my mouth whirl cracking crab-I did love the sauce-

Gretchen

This turned out pretty well! I added the lemon juice and zest, I had a handful of ricotta and parm. We’ll try this again. Might try adding spinach.

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