Crab Linguine with Chilli and Lemon
Crab linguine is the sort of dinner I end up making on a Friday evening, when the fridge is looking particularly empty. I do the big shop on a Monday, so by the end of the week I am cooking from whatever is left in there. A pot of white crab meat makes that a much better problem to have. The whole thing takes about as long as the pasta does.
There is not really a sauce here to speak of. Good olive oil, garlic softened slowly, a decent amount of chilli, and lemon zest and juice stirred through right at the end. The crab is barely warmed rather than cooked, which keeps it sweet and stops it turning stringy.
Buy the best crab you can, and if you can get a mix of white and brown meat then use both. The brown meat is stronger and richer, and a spoonful stirred into the oil gives the whole dish a proper depth. A splash of the pasta water is what brings it all together.
It serves two hungry people and does not reheat well at all, so make only what you will eat. I have a crab and lemon spaghetti on here already, which is the gentler version of this one. There is a good deal more chilli going on here.
Crab Linguine with Chilli and Lemon
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2 people
Serving size: 316g
Calories per serving: 700
Fat per serving: 25.3g
Ingredients
- 200g linguine
- 200g white crab meat
- 2 tbsp brown crab meat (optional)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 red chillies, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- Salt and black pepper to season
Method
- Bring a large pan of well salted water to the boil and cook the linguine until it is just short of al dente, following the timings on the packet.
- While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil in a wide frying pan over a low heat. Add the garlic and chilli and let them soften very gently for 4 minutes without browning.
- Stir the brown crab meat into the oil, if you are using it, and let it melt down into a loose paste. Take the pan off the heat.
- Lift the linguine straight into the frying pan with tongs, bringing plenty of the cooking water across with it, then add a further ladleful of the water.
- Return the pan to a medium heat and toss everything hard for a minute, until the oil and water come together and coat the strands properly.
- Take it off the heat and fold through the white crab meat, the lemon zest and juice and most of the parsley. Season, then serve with the last of the parsley on top.
