Fresh Pasta with Crabmeat, Peas, and Chile

This chile pepper gets its name from its origin. In Spanish, serrano is an adjective meaning “from the mountains” which is where it originated-in the mountains of Hildalgo, Mexico. The serrano is normally about twice as hot as Jalapeno (about 10,000 to 15,000 Scoville units). It is the second most popular chile pepper in Mexico. This chile is used mostly for salsas but can also be used in soups, sauces, chili or stews. Try these as a hotter substitute for Jalapeno. 


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Ingredients:

Fresh semolina fettuccine
1/2 cup thinly sliced spring onions or scallions
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 lb lump crabmeat, picked over
1/3 cup fresh or thawed frozen peas
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 (3- to 4-inch) fresh red chile, such as serrano, thinly sliced, or 1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided

Instructions:

Cook fettuccine in a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta.

While pasta water comes to a boil, cook spring onions in 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, peas, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper and cook 1 minute. Add crab and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add pasta, lemon juice, cheese, chile, and remaining Tbsp each of oil and butter and stir to combine well, adding more cooking water to moisten if necessary. Remove from heat and stir in all but 1 tablespoon parsley. Serve pasta sprinkled with remaining parsley.

Serves 8.

Recipe by Kay Chun via gourmet.com