Login Sign Up

Follow Nigella on: Facebook Twitter Vimeo Pinterest

LINGUINE WITH CHILLI, CRAB AND WATERCRESS

LINGUINE WITH CHILLI, CRAB AND WATERCRESS

Related Nigella Recipes

Related Community Recipes

Serves: 6 as a starter, 4 as a main

Print
  • Express Recipe
  • Nigella Recipe

You know, I'd eaten this a couple of times and made it myself (throwing in handfuls of peppery watercress as I did so) a few more before I realised it was, give or take, the River Cafe's recipe - by which I mean to say that although the amounts and full list of ingredients vary, it is an English seaside version of their fabulous original. I suppose that's how you know something's become a classic: it just seeps its way into the culinary language.

Crab is, I think, hugely underrated - so much better than lobster, and much cheaper. You can use frozen crab meat for this, but it's best to get a fishmonger to cook and pick out the meat for you.

Don't let the fact that a pestle and mortar is indicated put you off: this is fabulously easy to make.

Recipe posted by

Join in and share one of your own recipes

Add a Recipe

Ingredients

Switch to Cup Measures
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 scant tablespoon Maldon salt
  • 1 large red chilli
  • 200 grams white crab meat
  • 100 grams brown crab meat
  • 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 500 grams linguine
  • 1 handful fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 1 handful watercress (roughly torn)
FOREVER SUMMER

As featured in

FOREVER SUMMER

Method

  1. Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta.
  2. In a large pestle and mortar pulverise the peeled garlic cloves with the salt, so that it makes a smooth paste. Then add the chopped and seeded chilli and crush again until you have a gloriously red-tinged mixture. Tip in the crab meat, breaking it up gently with a fork, and pour in the oil. Zest the lemon into the mortar and then add the juice.
  3. Using a fork, beat well to mix, and then you are ready to cook your pasta. So do so, and then drain the pasta and tip into a warmed serving bowl. Immediately pour over the crab sauce and toss the pasta about in it, then throw in the parsley and watercress and toss again.

Tried this recipe?

Why not leave a comment or a suggestion?

Please note, questions and queries for the nigella.com
team cannot be answered here - please instead submit
any questions as "Kitchen Queries".

Add Comment

  • This is my favourite recipe ever! Takes as long to make as the pasta to boil. Great weekday treat as well as quite an impressively delicious dinner for guests. Thanks for brightening up my week Nigella!

    Posted by abirose29 on 22nd Oct 2011 at 21.09