Recipe excerpt from:
The Power Five: Essential Foods for Optimum Health
by Michael Crupain, MD, MPH
This is inspired by the classic dip, usually weighed down with lots of cream cheese, on menus at many bars and restaurants. This version features the artichoke and crab in their purest and healthiest forms. I prefer to use king crab, which has a decent amount of omega-3s, but you can use blue crab, too. The artichoke base of this recipe is the crema di carciofi that is also in the recipe for carciofi e pepe pasta in The What to Eat When Cookbook.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound king crab legs
- 1 (15-ounce) can quartered
- artichokes, drained
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to finish
- Salt
- 400 grams whole wheat
- linguine, spaghetti, or home-made Sourdough Busiate
- Pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh
- parsley
Directions
- Cut the crab shells using a pair of kitchen shears, and remove the crab meat. Chop the crab meat into chunks and reserve.
- Process the artichokes and oil in a Vitamix or other high-speed blender on low speed, gradually increasing the speed and pureeing until the mixture is very thick (it may not puree if you increase the speed too quickly). Scrape the sides of the blender, then shake the jar, and continue to puree on high speed, adding 2 to 3 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a very smooth puree is reached. Be patient; this may take 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- Place the artichoke puree in a sauté pan with the crab meat, and warm gently over low heat while you make the pasta.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add enough salt to make the water salty like the sea. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water; transfer pasta to the artichoke mixture, and stir to combine. Add a little pasta water if it’s too thick. Season with pepper to taste, garnish with the parsley, and drizzle with olive oil.
NOTE: If using dried pasta, you can use the whole box if you want, but Dr. Crupain recommends 100 grams per person.