Spaghetti & Crab a la Lorenzo

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Blue crabs were always plentiful during the months without an R. While driving down the causeway, you can see people with their long nets,a rope around their waste pulling big wash tub, full of these sweet and tasty crabs. It is kind of a Tampa tradition for families to get together on July 4th for a "jaiba Enchilada" meal,usually eaten outdoors because of the mess.Tables are laid out with newspaper,the large bowl of pasta is passed around,then comes the largest pot containg a thick rich red sauce, with cleaned and split crabs cooked in.The Cuban Bread is a necessity to sop up every last bit of sauce on your plate. Now days it is hard to find blue crabs so I make the same thing with 1 lb.of blue crab claw meat "Phillips"in a can.

Shared by DenimOrchid

Ingredients

1 lb. Phillips crab claw meat, picked through and rinsed quickly
1/2 C. fresh sweet basil, washed and chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1 C. onion, diced
1 1/2 C. green bell pepper, diced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. black pepper
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 can tomato paste
2 lg. cans whole tomatos-chopped
2 cans full bodied beer

Directions

Saute onions & bell pepper, in olive oil on low heat. Add whole garlic cloves. Add tomato paste while stirring. Add 1/2 can beer to deglaze. Add 2 Tbs. of the fresh chopped sweet basil, 1 tsp. oregano, salt and pepper. Add all the chopped tomatoes with the juice. Stir in the sugar and baking soda. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Add the rest of the beer. With fork, smash the now-soft cloves of garlic against side of pot. Add the rest of the chopped basil. Simmer for 2 hours and stir every once in a while. Now add rinsed, picked through crab meat. Simmer for 10 minutes,with cover on, and turn off heat. Let stand 10 more minutes uncovered, before serving. Serve over spaghetti al dente with Cuban Bread.