Fabulous Scottish crab are in season now. They are sustainable and are usually fished by pot and creel. It is possible to buy them live, boil them and clean them at home its much easier to buy fresh prepared meat from the fishmonger or supermarket.
The rich white meat found in the claws is very sweet and most appealing, but it is the brown meat found in the shell cavity at the top of the crab that has the richest flavour. This is also very rich in Omega 3 and other beneficial vitamins. You can use a mix brown meat and white meat to get the best balance of flavour and texture.
My Neapolitan great grandmother taught me a good tip. When cooking a sauce with fish in it always use extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic, dried chilli, sauté, then add white wine and chopped parsley. Make sure you boil off all the alcohol in the sauce before adding other ingredients and finally the fish. This sequence makes for the right base of flavours that are so familiar in the South of Italy.
She did all this as second nature of course; her great grandmother told her how to!
Spaghettini with Scottish Crab and Cherry Tomatoes
6 – 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 small pieces dried chilli (or dried chilli flakes)
75ml dry white wine
2 handfuls chopped flat leaf parsley
8-10 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
360g spaghettini
Sea salt
250g fresh white and brown crab meat
Juice and zest of unwaxed lemon.
More chopped flat leaf parsley
Heat the oil in a deep, wide saucepan.
Add the garlic and dried chilli and gently cook to release the flavours.
Raise the heat to high and add the white wine and chopped parsley and cook on a high heat until all the alcohol has evaporated.
This will take 4-5 minutes until the vapours no longer catch at the back of your throat.
Lower the heat and add the cherry tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile prepare a pot of boiling salted water.
Add the pasta, stir round and cook.
Now, add the crab meat to the sauce, turning it around and warming it through, being careful not to over- cook it.
As soon as the pasta is al dente use tongs to lift it from the water and add directly to the saucepan. Some of the cooking water clinging to the pasta will add moisture and seasoning to the sauce.
Toss everything together and finally check the seasoning.
Finish with a good squeeze of lemon juice and some zest and a final sprinkling of flat leaf parsley.
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