Crab is absolutely at its best from May until November so now is the time to try this wonderful recipe. If you don’t have linguini it also works well with spaghetti or fettuccine. Instead of crab meat you can use peeled, cooked prawns.

Crab & Lemon Linguine

Serves 4

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients

·       400g (13oz) linguini

·       400g (13oz) dressed white crab meat

·       1 long red chilli, finely sliced

·       1 clove garlic, crushed

·       Grated zest of 1 lemon

·       2 tbsp Filippo Berio Extra Virgin olive oil

·       2 tbsp torn chervil leaves

·       Juice of half a lemon

 

Instructions

1.     Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.  Add the pasta to the pan, stir well and boil rapidly for around 8-10 minutes, or until al dente.

2.     Meanwhile, combine the dressed crabmeat, chilli, crushed garlic and lemon zest in a bowl.  Stir the extra virgin olive oil into the mixture, and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Mix well with a fork to flake the crab meat.

3.     Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the saucepan.  Add the crab mixture, chervil leaves and lemon juice, and stir well to combine.

4.     Drizzle with a little extra olive oil if desired.  Taste and add extra lemon juice if you think it needs it.  Serve immediately.

In season this month:

Fruits & Nuts
Cherries, Elderflowers, Rhubarb

Vegetables & Herbs
Artichoke, Asparagus, Aubergine,Beetroot, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Carrots,Chillies, Courgettes, Fennel, French Beans, Garlic, Lettuce, Mangetout, New Potatoes, Onions, Pak Choi, Peas, Radishes, Rocket, Runner Beans, Samphire, Spinach, Spinach, Spring Onions, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watercress, Wild Nettles

Meat & Game
Lamb, Wood pigeon

Fish & Shellfish
Cod, Coley, Crab, Haddock, Hailbut, Herring, Langoustine, Plaice, Pollack, Prawns, Salmon, Sardines, Scallops (Queen), Sea Bream, Sea Trout, Shrimp, Squid, Whelks, Whitebait

Going out of season
Asparagus, Elderflower, Gooseberry, Hare, New Potatoes

Suzanne is a professional chef, wife and mother who has lived in South East London all her life.
You can email Suzanne with any comments or questions at info@suzannejames.co.uk

This article first appeared in the June 2017 issue of SE22 magazine.