By Issy Macdonald
In our house, this is the only way to cook crab that does justice to the beauty of it. Fresh, dressed crabs are lovely, but this makes 2 crabs feed four while maintaining their loveliness. I think originally it may have been inspired by Felicity Cloak, but now it’s a definitive member of our spring meal rotation.
You’ll need:
2 good sized dressed crabs
2 crushed cloves of garlic
1 red chili finely chopped
1 lemon, all the zest and half the juice
A good tablespoon of cream cheese (optional)
A tablespoon of sherry or something equally tasty (optional)
3-4 portions of linguine (75-100g each depending on the level of hunger)
Carefully pick the white meat of the crab into a small bowl.
Mash the brown meat with the cream cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper and sherry. Once mashed and creamy add in the lemon juice, tasting as you go and being careful not to overwhelm the crab flavour.
In a tablespoon of oil, very gently cook the chili and garlic in a frying pan big enough to hold all of the pasta later.
Put the pasta on to cook.
Add the creamy brown meat to the chili and garlic to cook gently. Add water from the pasta pan to loosen it up (a little in small spoonful’s!)
Drain the pasta and stir into the brown meat. Put into serving bowls and top with the white meat. We sometimes top it with a little samphire too, which is delicious if you have it!
Read all about how cooking recipes like this with her Mum helped Issy adapt to living at home during lockdown here.
Discover another delicious recipe from Issy's kitchen: Asparagus Tart with Optional Smoked Salmon.