Dungeness Crabio e Pepe with Smoked Salmon Caviar
This dish has been swimming around my noggin for many migrations and when 2nd gen, fisherperson-owned @oregonschoice sent me out a golden can of their Dungeness crab, packed in brine with hand-picked hunks of leg and claw meat, I fired up my skillet and got to cooking. My take on this classic sauce is made with heaps of fresh ground black pepper toasted in extra virgin olive oil, thickened with pasta water and pads of butter, before getting emulsified by tossing with al dente spaghetti and a mouth-watering mountain of grated pecorino. Four honking ounces of Dungeness crab then joined the party before I topped the whole tindulgent ordeal with Wild Fish Cannery’s shelf stable smoked salmon caviar (because why the shell not?). Oh, and if anyone has the urge to remind me that “shellfish and cheese is a culinary no-no,” I will kindly invite you to shuck right off, because this one is worth going to jail for 🦀 🐟
Tingredients:
• 1x can @oregonschoice Dungeness crab
• 1x jar Wildfish Cannery’s smoked salmon caviar
• 5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 tbs unsalted butter (divided)
• 1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese (finely grated on microplane)
• Kosher salt to taste
1. Get a pot of heavily salted pasta water boiling over high heat. Cook the spaghetti to package directions until al dente.
2. While pasta cooks, get a large skillet going over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the pepper, toasting until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Once pasta is mostly cooked, spoon 5 tablespoons of pasta water into your skillet. Stir to combine and add the three pads of butter, stirring until melted.
4. Open the can of @oregonschoice Dungeness crab and ogle its beauty. Using a fork or slotted spoon to block the meat and pour the brine into the skillet. Stir to combine.
5. Once pasta is cooked, use tongs to introduce it to the sauce base. Dump the grated pecorino on top. Using a large fork, tongs or preferable pasta tweezers (not a wooden spoon), gently stir, and toss the pasta until the cheese melts and emulsifies into a thick, glossy sauce. NOTE: The pan should have been off since the end of step 2. The pasta will be hot enough to create the sauce, but if you try to do this over heat, you risk your cheese splitting, clumping, and sticking to your pan. Lower heat is your friend on this one.
6. Once it you’ve got cacio e pepe, go in with your crab and toss to combine. Plate to your liking in your favorite bowls and top with Wildfish Cannery’s smoked salmon caviar.
Serves 2-3
Canjoy!
