We’ve been enjoying the final days of blue crab season here in Maryland, as it will be coming to a close in the next month or so. It’s actually the best time of year for them, as crabs are at their fattest and heaviest late in the year, right before they burrow into the mud for a long winter’s nap. While my favorite thing to do with them is steam them, and eat them as is – often we’re left with a plethora of meat that we’ve picked to use up. I usually go with our standard favorites – crab cakes or crab dip (which reminds me, I was featured on our local news recently making the crab dip – check it out here!) but I wanted to do something a little fancier.
I’d been wanting to try my hand at homemade ravioli, so I thought why not stuff it with crab? I just took my basic ricotta pasta filling and gently folded the crab meat into it. The sauce takes only a few minutes to throw together. I more or less did an alfredo sauce, adding in some saffron and a bit of tomato paste at the last minute, to give it a gorgeous pink hue. It was insanely good, and definitely a cut above our standard weekly fare. I think I may have to treat us to a pound of crabmeat come December to make these for New Year’s Eve dinner. A special dinner, indeed!
Crab Ravioli with Saffron Cream Sauce
1 batch homemade pasta dough
1 pound lump crab meat
1 cup (8 oz) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 scallions, chopped
salt and pepper
Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish
For the sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
pinch of saffron (5 or 6 threads)
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tsp tomato paste
On floured surface or using a pasta roller, roll dough out to make a thin sheet (about 1/16″ thick). Gently press ravioli stamp or edge of a glass into the pasta dough to make outlines. Fill each ravoli with about 1 tablespoon of filling. Roll out another sheet of pasta, and place on top of the other sheet, pressing down around the filling. Cut the ravoli using a stamp or glass – pressing on edges to make sure they are sealed well. Place on jelly roll pan lined with wax or parchment paper.
For the sauce, melt butter in large saucepan. Add the flour, and whisk for a couple minutes to form a light roux. Slowly add in the chicken stock, and heavy cream – whisking constantly until thickened. Add the saffron, and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese, and tomato paste – stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. When boiling, drop ravioli in and cook for about 4 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water in the event the simmering sauce is too thick.
Drain pasta and gently toss with the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
