Fresh crab and homemade linguine

 

I learnt last week just how expensive fresh crabmeat is – £6.50 per 100g to be precise, bought from Fortnum and Mason in London. It was a splurge but this recipe, simple as it looks, is definitely worth it. To go with the juicy, sweet crabmeat, K made fresh linguine which only took 2 minutes to cook. If you are using dried linguine, cook according to packet instructions until al dente.

This was also the first time I used micro greens at home. It was on sale at our local Sainsburys and I thought it would go well with the crab linguine. This one is a micro green garlic chive with a mild onion taste. It gave the dish a little extra lift but if you can’t get hold of them, feel free to exclude.

What you’ll need

• 200g fresh linguine
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 a fresh red chilli, finely chopped
• 200g picked fresh cooked white crabmeat
• 40ml sherry
• 1 tbsp chopped basil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/2 a fresh red chilli, finely sliced
• a small bunch of micro greens

To cook your crab linguine

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the linguine for 2 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan or wok and add the garlic and chopped chilli. Fry lightly without colouring for one minute. Stir in the crabmeat and heat through for another minute.

3. Add the sherry to the pan and let it bubble and reduce completely.

4. Add the linguine to the crab mix. Stir in the chopped basil and toss everything together to coat evenly.

5. Season to taste and garnish with the sliced chilli and micro greens.

 Yields 2 main servings

Recipe inspired by Angela Hartnett’s crab linguine recipe from The Guardian