Fettucine with Dungeness Crab, Garlic, Chili and White Wine

Makes 2 Servings

This recipe was inspired by a lunchtime visit to clarklewis, a trendy restaurant in an industrial area of Portland, Oregon. I made my own pasta for this recipe, but you can substitute purchased fresh or dried pasta. It's also preferable to use fresh or frozen Dungeness crabmeat, but you could also use a can of lump meat, or to make it even more economical, a can of crab that has 15% leg meat inside, to add a bit of texture to the sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1-120 gram can of crabmeat, ¼ cup of packing liquid reserved, or 1 cup of loosely packed Dungeness crabmeat
• ¼ to ½ cup white wine
• 1 tsp. hot pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• dried or fresh fettucine to serve 2

Boil the water for your pasta and make the sauce while the pasta is cooking.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the garlic has softened, add in the crabmeat, reserved packing liquid and/or white wine, and the hot pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer. When the pasta is ready, drain, and add to the pan sauce and stir to mix. Divide the pasta onto two warm plates and top with salt, pepper and parsley. Enjoy!

Cut the endive leaves into large, uniform chunks. Slice the figs in half and place in a small pot. Pour in the balsamic and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, leaving the pot on the stove and let the figs sit for half an hour. Drain, reserving the balsamic.

To serve, place the chopped endive in shallow bowls or plates. Top with the figs, walnuts and cheese. Whisk the reserved balsamic and the oil together and drizzle on the salad. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

(You could serve this as an appetizer at a party by leaving the endive leaves intact and filling with a mixture of the walnuts, cheese and more finely chopped figs, then drizzling with the dressing.)