Crab linguine
- Published: 26 Jul 19
- Updated: 23 Apr 24
If you don’t have time to make the linguine from scratch, we recommend using a ‘bronze die’ variety with a rougher texture, ideal for holding the sauce. Crab linguine always makes a luxurious but easy main to serve to guests on hot summer days…
This recipe is by Terry Blake and Yohini Nandakumar, owners of Sparrow restaurant.
- Serves 8 (or 4 as a main dish)
- Hands-on time 50 min, plus resting
Ingredients
For the pasta dough
- 225g ’00’ flour (Italian-style flour, from the baking section of large supermarkets), plus extra to dust
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 medium free-range eggs, plus 3 medium free-range egg yolks
- Semolina for dusting
For the sauce
- Olive oil for frying
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- Grated zest and juice 1-2 lemons
- 200g picked white crabmeat
- 2 tbsp fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra to sprinkle
- Extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle
You’ll also need…
- Pasta machine with a linguine or tagliatelle attachment (see tip)
Method
- For the pasta dough, pulse the flour, salt, eggs and yolks in a food processor a few times until the mix starts to form rough crumbs. Tip into a large mixing bowl and use your hands to bring the dough together into a ball. Put it on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). The dough will be soft. Wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- To roll out the pasta, flatten one third of the dough to about 0.5cm thick with your hands. Lightly dust the pasta with flour and set the pasta machine to its widest setting, then feed the dough through 3 times, folding it in thirds like a letter after the first 2 feeds. Keep rolling the pasta through the machine, narrowing the setting by one notch each time. The dough will become smoother and more elastic. Once you’ve reached the thinnest setting, the pasta is ready to be cut into linguine. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
- Cut the pasta into lengths no more than 30cm long and feed through the pasta machine fitted with the linguine attachment. Dust the lengths with semolina to stop them sticking, then hang them over a rolling pin for 10 minutes to dry out a little. Keep in a sealed container, well dusted with semolina, until ready to cook (see Make Ahead).
- For the sauce, heat a glug of oil in a large deep frying pan and fry the garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the zest of 1 lemon and the white crabmeat. Season with salt and pepper, then add the parsley and juice of 1 lemon.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then cook the linguine for 4-5 minutes until al dente (or according to the pack instructions – see tip). Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, then add the pasta to the crab sauce. Toss well, adding a little reserved cooking water if the pasta starts to stick. Taste to see if it needs more lemon juice, then serve sprinkled with parsley, lemon zest and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Recipe from February 2018 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 196kcals
- Fat
- 6.8g (1.5g saturated)
- Protein
- 11.1g
- Carbohydrates
- 21.9g (0.4g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.4g
- Salt
- 0.4g
delicious. tips
Use a pack of good quality dried linguine. Look for the term ‘bronze die’ on the pack, which means it has a rougher texture, ideal for holding the sauce.
Roll and cut the pasta up to 24 hours ahead and keep in a sealed container.
Buy ingredients online
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