Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb bucatini pasta (linguine or spaghetti would also work great)
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ stick of unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated or pressed
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 cup pecorino romano cheese, plus more for serving
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped, plus more for serving
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups jumbo lump crab meat
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt. Add the pasta and cook, according to package directions, until just shy of el dente. During the 2 minutes of cooking, add the asparagus to the pot.
- Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid (I usually use a glass measuring cup to scoop out some water from the pot). Drain both the asparagus and the pasta. Thinly slice the asparagus into bite-sized pieces.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Once the butter is melted, add the shallot and garlic and cook for a few minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add the red pepper flakes, pasta, asparagus, cheese, lemon zest and juice, and basil.
- Toss the pasta with the other ingredients until evenly coated, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water here and there to add enough moisture (you may not need the entire cup of water).
- Add the jump lump crab meat and gently toss with the other ingredients just to warm it through. You don’t want to completely break up the crab pieces; larger chunks are really nice here. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
- Serve the pasta immediately, garnished with additional cheese and basil.