Crab Linguine

Even without fresh ingredients, this was quite yummy. Definitely plan on making it again :)

Crab Linguine (with lemon & basil)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pasta, such as linguine or spaghetti
•  1/3 cup olive oil
•  2 tbsp. butter
•  6 cloves garlic, minced
•  ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
•  1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
•  Salt and pepper, to taste
•  8 oz. fresh crab meat, cooked (or substitute pre-cooked shrimp/prawns)
•  1 lemon, quartered

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.  Drain well; set aside.  
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the olive oil and butter, heating until the butter is completely melted.  
3. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant and bubbling.  Remove the pan from the heat.
4. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss well until the pasta is well coated with the garlic-oil sauce.  
5. Add the basil and cherry tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  
6. Divide the pasta between warmed serving bowls.  
7. Top each individual serving with the fresh lump crab meat, about 2 ounces each.  
8. Squeeze one quarter of lemon over each serving.  
9. Serve immediately.

My Changes:

1. I used more butter, because I ran out of olive oil.  I personally don't think the amounts above would have been enough, we tend to dislike dry pastas in this house.
2. I ended up only using about 1/2-2/3 of the pasta (see above, with the dryness issue).
3. Instead of fresh basil, I used dried with some Italian seasoning.
4.  I used pre-cooked crab (it's March in a landlocked state, so sue me) and added it to the butter/garlic/basil/tomato sauce to give it some extra flavor- HIGHLY recommend doing this.
5.  Rather than doing everything per serving, I added the sauce to the pasta and stirred it all together.  Just simpler.