In The Kitchen With Odette Williams

In The Kitchen

Crab, chili, and a perfect taste of summer

This month, we’re in the kitchen with Odette Williams—an Australian-born cook and writer whose warm, unfussy approach to food has made her a favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. Odette moved from Bondi Beach to Brooklyn in 2006, trading a career in acting for a new life filled with food, family, and a little leap of love. Since then, she’s written two celebrated cookbooks—Simple Cake and Simple Pasta, both named New York Times Best Cookbooks—and contributed to publications from The Wall Street Journal to the Food Network.

This summer, she launched DEVOUR, a bi-weekly Substack designed to bring a bit of calm, pleasure, and inspiration to your inbox—an antidote to the noise and pace of modern life. And today, she’s sharing a personal favorite: her crab and chili pasta. A nod to the coastal traditions of Southern Europe, this dish is bright, briny, and deceptively simple—it’s unfussy but full of character, bright with heat, rich with crab, and just right for warm evenings.

Q&A with Odette

1. Other than crab and chili pasta, what’s one dish that’s in your summer rotation?

I always cook my Fried Zucchini and Basil Pasta and Spaghetti al Limone. They just hit and are simple. Then I’m all about aguachile and ceviche with an ice cold beer and corn chips after a swim at the beach. It feels so alive and refreshing in your mouth

2. Cooking vibe at home—music on, glass of wine, kids helping out? What’s playing in the background?

Barefoot, wet swimmers under a kaftan, music on, friends coming and staying over, cooking together, making a weekend of it. Very relaxed, lots of swimming, eating and drinking. Everyone fends for themselves during the day, we come together at night.

3. Meticulous planner or more of a what’s-in-the-fridge-and-let’s-go type?

I shop day-to-day so I cook what I’m craving that day. I’ve always been food motivated, so if I know there’s a good meal at the end of the day, it can turn a day around, and give me something to look forward too. Often I’m testing recipes, so I try make sure when I’m cooking up a storm I have lots of mouths to taste and give feedback. If I’m throwing a big dinner party, I get organized and bank as much cooking, so I can be off the hook and having fun. If I can give people a roadmap for doing this, I’ll have done my job right.

4. MVP Summer ingredient?

MVP summer ingredient. I love this!!! Brilliant. So hard… I’ll take corn, closely followed by watermelon.

Recipe:

Creamy Crab Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound linguine or spaghetti
6 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
⅔ cup white wine
1½ cups heavy cream
Juice of ½ lemon
1 pound (454g) cooked crab meat, or jumbo lump crab
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

To make:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, in a deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat, warm the oil and melt the butter. Add the shallot and garlic, then sauté until soft and translucent, about 5-6 minutes.

Add the white wine, deglaze the pan, and reduce by half. Add the lemon, cream, and crab meat to heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Use a spider or tongs to transfer the cooked pasta straight into the sauce. Add about ½ -¾ cup of pasta water, and toss to coat the pasta. You want a glossy sauce.