Few things scream summer holiday to me more than a big bowl of briny, seafood-studded pasta, even if it’s going to be eaten in front of the TV rather than some pretty Italian harbour. Happily, seafood is one of the things we do rather well in this country, and this dish is the perfect end for a fat, brown, British crab. Sunshine optional.
Prep 5 min
Cook 12 min
Serves 4
2 brown crabs, or 200g brown crabmeat and 200g white crabmeat
400g linguine
2 garlic cloves
1 red chilli
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1 lemon
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil, to finish
1 Start on the crab
Start with the crab. You may have bought it ready picked, but if not, you’ll need to get at the meat first. There are many online videos and tutorials showing this process in detail, but start by snapping off the claws close to the body, then remove the bottom of the shell by inserting the tip of a knife into the mouth (just below the eyes) and twisting gently.
2 Discard the inedible bits
Prise off the back of the shell and locate and remove the hard spiny bits around the eyes and mouth, and the yellowish stomach sac attached to them, plus any bits of papery membrane and the dead man’s fingers, the greyish fronds around the edge of the shell. (Despite the name, they’re not poisonous, but they’re not very tasty, either.)
3 Pick the crab
Scoop the brown meat into one bowl and the white into another – a sharp tap with a hammer, rolling pin or even a wooden spoon will help you to get into the stuff in the claws. Don’t miss the white meat in the leg sockets, either; the handle of a teaspoon is a useful tool here. Keep any large pieces of claw meat separate.
4 Cook the pasta
Bring a large pan of generously salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to your taste – this should take around eight to 10 minutes, unless you like it very al dente or very soft. Linguine is my preference here, but spaghetti, or any other long pasta, would also be fine (in fact, let’s be honest, almost any shape would be delicious).
5 Start on the sauce
While the pasta is cooking, peel and finely chop the garlic, and deseed and finely chop the chilli. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, then fry the garlic, chilli and fennel seeds for a couple of minutes until soft, but not coloured; remember that garlic, in particular, burns easily.
6 Add the lemon and brown meat
Take the frying pan off the heat, grate in the zest of half the lemon, then squeeze in the juice of the whole thing (do this through your other hand, to catch any errant pips; alternatively, squeeze it into a cup and pour it into the pan through a sieve). Now stir in all the brown crab meat until well combined.
7 Add the pasta to the sauce
Scoop a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water out of the pan and set aside, then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta to the frying pan, season and toss it around to coat the strands with the sauce; add a little of the reserved cooking water, if you think it needs loosening.
8 Finishing touches
Roughly chop the parsley, set a little aside to garnish and add the rest to the pan along with the 200g white crab meat (if you don’t have any large claw pieces, keep a little bit back, to finish). Toss again, divide between bowls and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil. Finish with the remaining parsley and the claw (or reserved white) meat, and serve at once.
9 Variations on the theme
If you’d like to add vegetables, the River Cafe puts shaved fresh fennel into its crab pasta, while River Cottage goes for fresh tomatoes (I reckon a handful of the cherry variety, added to the pan with the garlic and chilli, so they just burst in the heat, would be best). Tinned crab doesn’t seem to work well here, sadly – or at least not the brands I’ve tried.
⁃ The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. For ratings in your region, check: UK; Australia; US.
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