CRAB PASTA

Strangely enough I have basically been full vegetarian since lockdown began, not consciously but somehow all the recipes I ended up making were veg based, but this week I had a real craving for some good seafood and a fantastic crab pasta that I had on day trip to Whitstable last year came to my mind and I knew I had to try and recreate it!

This dish is full of flavour and doesn't need any cream or cheese, literally like spring on a plate, and rustled up in less than half an hour!

Serves 3

INGREDIENTS

• 500g of dried spaghetti or linguine
• 80g of white cooked and picked crab meat (got mine from Waitrose which was excellent, ditto the brown meat)
• 80g of brown cooked and picked crab meat
• 1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 50g of unsalted butter
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

• In a bowl, mix together the white and brown crab meats, chilli, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Season with a good grind of pepper. Refrigerate until needed.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add salt to resemble sea water. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
• Meanwhile, add a splash of pasta cooking water to a separate pan, add the butter and melt on a low heat, then add the crab mixture.
• When the pasta is cooked, remove it from the water and add it to the crab.
• Keep the pasta cooking water. 
• Vigorously toss the pasta in the pan for at least 30 seconds to work the gluten, adding a splash more cooking water if it starts to dry up. 
• Continue cooking the pasta until the sauce emulsifies. 
• Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve immediately.