A Little Bowl of Sunshine

The English weather and our apparent complete inability to predict it never ceases to amaze me. We rejoiced, at first, when we were told we would have a long, hot, scorcher of a summer. It then looked like we were going to have to resign ourselves to the fact that our "summer" consisted only of those two weeks of sunshine we had back in June! Amazingly though, the last few days have been gloriously sunny and so I have decided to share one of my favourite summer-time dishes.

Crab Tagliolini with Lemon and Chilli.

Crab is in season at the moment and this simple but heavenly recipe is the perfect way to enjoy its sweet, succulent flavour and texture. I have to admit I have cheated here slightly by buying fresh pasta instead of making it but seriously - who wants to be toiling away in the kitchen for hours when it’s so gloriously sunny outside?

Behold... fresh hot twirls of tagliolini with chunks of sweet, white crab meat, specks of fiery red chilli, doused in lemon, garlic and olive oil, scattered with a handful of fresh parsley. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.

This dish takes only minutes to make, so whip it up tonight and get outside in the sunshine to soak up the last of those rays! Oh and, by the way, an accompanying glass (or bottle) of chilled white wine is absolutely mandatory.

RECIPE (serves 2)

175g undressed white Crab Meat
1½ tbsp Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped
1 Red Chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 Lemon, juiced
A handful of fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
300g fresh Tagliolini
Sea Salt and freshly ground black Pepper

Put the white crab meat in a bowl and add the lemon juice and parsley. Mix gently with a spoon, trying to keep it in nice big chunks rather than break it down too much.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on a low heat and add the garlic and chilli. Cook gently for a minute, moving the pan around to really infuse the flavours into the oil. Do not let the garlic turn brown as it will taste bitter.

Put the pasta in a big saucepan of boiling water and cook according to instructions - it should only take one or two minutes. Drain the pasta and then place it back in the saucepan.

Pour the garlic and chilli oil over the pasta, season with the salt and pepper, and then gently but quickly mix in the crab mixture. Serve immediately and add another sprinkling of parsley and a dash of lemon juice to finish.