Seafood Fettucini

This seafood fettuccine builds everything on a simple roux: butter and flour cooked together, then loosened with half-and-half until you’ve got a velvety cream sauce. Parmesan goes in next and melts into the sauce, giving it that salty, nutty backbone that pairs so well with crab.

The sauce thickens fast, so keep your spoon moving and add the half-and-half gradually. You want it smooth and pourable, not gluey. Once the Parmesan melts in, fold the crab meat through gently. Three minutes of warming is all it needs.

Steam the broccoli just until it turns bright green and still has some snap to it. Overcooked broccoli will turn mushy the second it hits the hot sauce.

Toss everything together right before serving. The sauce clings to flat fettuccine noodles beautifully, and the broccoli florets catch pockets of that creamy Parmesan coating.

Chef Tips

• Whisk the flour into the melted butter for a full minute before adding liquid to cook out the raw flour taste
• Add half-and-half in three additions, whisking smooth each time, to prevent lumps
• Steam broccoli in a separate pot so you can control the texture independently
• Toss the pasta while it’s still hot so the sauce coats every strand

Variations

• Shrimp swap: Use sauteed shrimp instead of crab for a different seafood spin
• Garlic lover’s version: Add 3 minced garlic cloves to the butter before adding flour
• Low-carb: Skip the pasta entirely and serve the crab cream sauce over the steamed broccoli as the main dish