NEW ORLEANS — We are so fortunate to have access to such incredible seafood, and crabmeat is lumped in there.
There are two kinds of crabmeat, lump and claw. Lump crabmeat is very pretty but claw meat is sweeter.
I like to use claw meat for soups, stuffing and pasta. I use lump crabmeat to top a pretty piece of fish.
Crabmeat California Roll on the Go
- 1 cup sushi rice, uncooked
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 avocados, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup crabmeat, claw, lump or imitation
- 1 cup cucumber, chopped
- 2 nori sheets, thinly sliced
- Optional: Pickled ginger slices, soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds
Wash rice in a colander until water runs clear. Combine rice, 1 cup water and salt in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover. Simmer until water is absorbed and rice is tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.
Combine rice vinegar and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir into rice.
Place 1/3 cup rice into each of four 1-pint wide-mouth canning jars; layer with half of the avocados, crabmeat, cucumber and nori. Top with remaining rice and repeat layers. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Transfer into bowls; toss to combine. If desired, serve with optional ingredients.
Note: Toss cut avocado in a little rice vinegar to maintain color.
Crabmeat Carbonara
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 lb. sliced bacon, cut into thin strips
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup crab meat, claw or lump
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 lb. linguine
Cook pasta according to package instructions.
In a small pan, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add garlic, wine and pepper. Simmer for about three minutes to reduce the wine. Add peas and crab, and 2-3 spoonfuls of pasta water into the pan. Simmer for another three minutes, remove from heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, and salt.
Drain the pasta. While it's still steaming hot, add it to the egg and cheese mixture. Stir well to combine, the heat of the pasta will cook the eggs and the egg mixture will stick to the pasta.
Pour the bacon mixture over the linguine and toss.
Serve immediately while hot.