Bacon Crab Pasta

This luxurious recipe for bacon crab pasta combines sweet tender crab with bacon in a delectable white wine cream sauce. The perfect dinner party choice…or for a night when you just want to pamper yourself because you are worth ALL the crab!

Yes I know, this is my second post in a row with the word “bacon” in the title, but this one couldn’t be more different than the rustic looking bacon chicken pot pie I was talking about last time.  This silky, indulgent recipe for crab bacon pasta is the kind of decadent meal you want to pull out for company…or for yourself when you want a creamy, flavorful treat.

Now, while this recipe IS all kinds of luxurious and full of glorious crab and bacon and cream sauce, that also means that a little goes a long way.

Buying lump crabmeat always gives me sticker shock, but because it is swirled into this rich conglomeration, you actually should serve up somewhat smaller portions than you would normally do. And here’s an interesting piece about WHY it is so expensive, in case you were also wondering.

Meaning that a little the spendy crabmeat and the decadent cream sauce goes a long way, especially when you pair this with an interesting side salad (I’m currently loving this salad with pumpkin seeds and pears from the always wonderful Leite’s Culinaria) and a well behaved dessert like strawberry sherbet.

Oh, and about that basil.  I’m currently in total denial that my homegrown basil season is over and am self-soothing myself by buying bunches of it at the supermarket, but if you are making this sometime when basil is not at your fingertips, the always available fresh parsley will also work just fine.

Here’s how you make bacon crab pasta!

You start by cooking up some long pasta – spaghetti and linguine are both A-OK – in salted water, and scoop out a cup of that magical pasta water before you drain it.

While the pasta is cooking, sauté up some chopped bacon in a heavy deep skillet until it is cooked to your liking.  Scoop out the bacon to drain on paper towels, and then add some white wine to those bacon drippings.

Reduce it a little, and then pour in some cream.  (I know, but life is short and every once in a while we get to have cream.)

Once the cream has reduced a little, you are going to pour the cooked pasta into the skillet, give it a good toss so it is nice and coated, and then stir in the crabmeat along with the chopped herbs, the cooked bacon, some butter (just a smidge!), some lemon juice, and enough of that pasta water to make the sauce the perfect consistency.  Season it to taste with salt and pepper.

Now dish it out onto warmed plates and garnish it with a few basil or parsley sprigs, and speaking of that…

…this is how I know something is a hit with the Southern husband – when he eats every last morsel, except for that last smidge of garnish.

And we all lived happily ever after!

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