Even without the crab this is a great bowl of pasta, but the sweet shellfish brings it to another level entirely. If you are buying live crabs they will need killing before cooking (see below) and take 10 minutes per kilo to cook once the water has come back to the boil.
Of course, you don’t have to use spider crab or prepare your own for this recipe. The yield from a brown crab is greater than from spider crabs but the spider crab is perhaps sweeter. Ready-picked white crab meat is easily available and is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
SERVES 4 AS A MAIN COURSE
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 red chilli, minced
100ml white wine
300ml vegetable stock (see Basics p. 284)
120g unsalted butter
320g good-quality dried linguini
250g fresh white crab meat, picked
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
lemon juice
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
NOTE: If using a live crab put it in the freezer for about 1 hour to render it insensible before dispatching. This is considered the most humane way to kill them. From the freezer it will be in a semi-dormant state and should not be moving – if it is still visibly active, put it back in for another 30 minutes. Lay the crab on its back and lift back the tail – a hole should be visible. Push a pointed instrument such as a screwdriver firmly through the hole into the body at an angle of 85 degrees. Repeat the process through the front nerve centre where there is a shallow depression, this time at an angle of 65 degrees towards the centre of the crab.
1. For the pasta, bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt heavily. While the water is boiling, take a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan and sweat off the garlic and chilli in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the wine and reduce to a syrup, then add the stock and reduce again to approximately 75ml. Whisk in the butter and set aside.
2. Cook the pasta until al dente, add to the sauce and warm through. Finish by adding the white crab, parsley and the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil.
3. Check the seasoning and adjust with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
4. Divide between four pasta bowls and finish with a final drizzle of olive oil.