I like this flavourful combination stirred through pasta or noodles – the soft crab meat clings to the strands like a sauce. However, you can also serve it on its own, perhaps with some warm flatbreads and a salad, or even on toast.
Serves 2, with pasta or noodles
150g peas (freshly podded or frozen)
75g cooking chorizo
1 tablespoon olive oil
About 150g mixed white and brown crab meat (the yield from a medium brown crab)
A good spritz of lemon juice
A knob of butter (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
If using frozen peas, put them in a pan, add boiling water to cover and a shake of salt, then bring back to the boil and simmer for 2–3 minutes until tender. For fresh peas, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the peas and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 2–5 minutes until tender (older, fatter peas will take longer than baby ones).
Remove the skin from the chorizo and cut into thick matchsticks. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chorizo and fry for a couple of minutes until the fat runs and the chorizo takes on some colour. Add the cooked peas and crush a few of them roughly with a fork so they mingle with the chorizo and oil. Add the crab meat and stir to combine, taking the pan off the heat as soon as the crab is heated through. Season with salt, pepper and plenty of lemon juice.
If you are tossing the crab mixture into hot pasta or noodles, add a knob of butter to lubricate everything. Otherwise, pile on to toast, or on to warm plates with flatbreads or bread on the side.