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What's For Dinner? v18.05: Crab-stuffed pasta shells with vodka cream sauce [1]

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Date: 2023-08-05  

Good evening, everybody! A couple of months ago, Zenbassoon did this WFD story, which tied in nicely with a recipe I’d already photographed. It’s definitely too hot here to turn on the oven, but I expect to enjoy this again when it’s cooler and I can get a good deal on crabmeat. It’s one of my go-to company meals when I know I don’t have any guests with shellfish allergies.

Don’t remember when I first got the idea to put deviled crab into pasta shells, but I’ve made it several times with different sauces, and it’s always tasty. For the latest version, I tried a vodka cream sauce, which turned out pretty darn well.

Deviled crab (can be mixed in advance; loosely based on a recipe from the newspaper)

Deviled crab mixture

1 pound crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

½ onion, peeled and finely chopped

½ green pepper, seeded and finely chopped

½ cup mayonnaise

1 egg, beaten

3 Tbsp heavy cream

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp bay seasoning (such as Old Bay)

1 tsp Creole seasoning

24 buttery crackers (Ritz or club), crushed into fine crumbs

Melt butter in medium skillet; add onion and green pepper and sauté until soft. Set aside to cool. Combine crab, mayo, beaten egg, cream, Worcestershire, seasonings and cracker crumbs in medium mixing bowl; add onion and green pepper when cooled. Can cover and refrigerate at this point.

Vodka cream sauce (from AllRecipes.com)

Sauce after addition of cream

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

½ onion, finely chopped

½ cup vodka

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in large skillet; add onion and cook on medium heat until soft and slightly browned (about 7 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low, add vodka and cook 10 minutes; add tomatoes and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cream and cook 30 minutes more, still stirring occasionally.

During the last 30 minutes of simmering the sauce, cook 20-24 large pasta shells according to package directions. Place in cold water until ready to assemble, then drain.

Stuffing and placing in casserole dish

Assembly: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 6x10 casserole with non-stick spray and place a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Fill pasta shells with crab mixture (I like to use an iced teaspoon) and nestle snugly into casserole. Won’t lie, this can be a pretty messy process.

Pour remaining sauce on top and bake for 20-25 minutes. If there is remaining crab mixture, I like to put it in a small ovenproof dish, top with buttered crumbs and bake along with the shells, then scoop up with crackers or chips.

All done!

What’s for dinner at your place?

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/5/2184686/-What-s-For-Dinner-v18-05-Crab-stuffed-pasta-shells-with-vodka-cream-sauce

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