Spaghetti with Crab, Tomatoes, Chilli, Garlic, Lem...

Spaghetti with Crab, Tomatoes, Chilli, Garlic, Lemon and Basil

O.K let’s get straight to the point. I have been remiss in my blogging duties. To be fair I was battling chicken pox amongst other various lurgies. Thankfully I am better and have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen as well as organizing my garden – I just haven’t been writing about it. On my desk sits a very precarious looking stack of notebooks and important bits of paper. My SD card is full of images of baked treats, wholesome meals and new additions to the garden. There is much work to be done.

Whilst languishing on the couch in full pox delirium I decided to have a rummage through one of my old recipe binders. Tucked in between a Jamie Oliver recipe for Beautiful Zucchini Carbonara and a Nigel Slater recipe for Pasta with Spicy Sausage, Basil and Mustard, I found what I was looking for. Lovingly titled ‘pasta w/crab’, the recipe was handwritten on the back of an envelope.

Unfortunately there is no reference as to where this recipe came from, but I do remember making it a few years ago and thinking it was rather yummy. This dish didn’t disappoint the second time around and it will grace our table again. Next time, however, I will use fresh crab (a visit to the Whitsable Fish Market will be in order) and also add a Tablespoon of capers (because they make everything taste just that little bit more fantastic). In any case this is easy to make, perfect for lunch or dinner and goes very well with glass or two of wine.

Luna Raye’s Spaghetti with Crab, Tomatoes, Chilli, Garlic, Lemon and Basil (serves 2)

Ingredients

Spaghetti (or any other type of long-strand pasta such as Linguine, Angel Hair or the fabulous Fusilli Lunghi)

1 good sized glug of olive oil

12-14 Cherry tomatoes quartered (you can always add more if you wish)

1- 3 cloves of garlic (I love garlic and have no social life so I happily used 3 cloves)

2 fresh chillies (if you want it really hot – keep the seeds!)

1 unwaxed lemon (all you need is the peel so use a peeler to create lovely long strands)

1 tin of crab meat – 170g with drained weight of 121g (next time I will use fresh)

Salt and pepper to taste

A handful of fresh basil leaves roughly torn

Directions

Cook the pasta according to the package directions

Add the olive oil and quartered tomatoes to a pan and cook over moderate heat

When the tomatoes begin to soften (after about 3-4 minutes) add the garlic, chillies, salt and pepper

Give everything a good stir and add the lemon peel

Leave the peel to soften for 1-2 minutes then add the drained tinned crab (or fresh crab)

Stir every so often until it’s heated through (approximately 5-7 minutes)

I added about 3-4 Tablespoons of the pasta cooking water during this time as the mixture was looking a bit dry

Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan and toss everything together

Just before serving add the basil leaves and give it all one final toss

Enjoy!

Note: My husband isn’t overly enthusiastic about tomato skins. This didn’t put him off his dinner but he suggested that it might be worthwhile exploring recipes that do NOT include tomato skins. The thing is – tomatoes are great for you and it is recommended to use the whole tomato whenever possible in cooking. Here is a very interesting website on the many health benefits of tomatoes and a quote from their website.

Whenever possible, try to develop recipes that make use of the whole tomato. We’ve seen research showing higher lycopene content in whole tomato products. For example, when the skins of tomatoes are included in the making of the tomato paste, the lycopene and beta-carotene content of the paste is significant higher according to research studies. – courtesy of www.whfoods.com

Sorry Hubby – the tomato skins stay!

Vermicelli With Lemon Sauce and Capers...

Vermicelli With Lemon Sauce and Capers

This time of year I find that I indulge a little too much in festive treats and comfort food. I’m not sure whether it’s the martinis that are festive and the mashed potatoes comforting – or the other way around. In any case I do like to ease up a bit and have some meals that are a little lighter and less intense then a bowl full of mash. I have always had a fondness for Vermicelli or Angel Hair Pasta as it is known across the pond and this recipe sounded too good not to try.

The recipe I based this on is by Kyle Phillips and I found it on About.com. It is a real winner and I feel it works perfectly on a cold winters day. It brings a little bit of sunshine to your dinner plate. I pretty much followed the recipe but I didn’t remove the garlic from the cream (and I used a lot more garlic – I am after all a garlic-oholic) and at the end I added a Tbsp or so of capers. Yummy!

You can find Kyle’s original recipe here

Vermicelli With Lemon Sauce and Capers (serves 4)

Ingredients

1 pound Vermicelli

Zest of 1 lemon (make sure to used unwaxed lemons if you can)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 clove garlic (I used 3 large cloves)

1 cup cream

1 cup grated Parmigiano (I used Grana Padano)

1 Tbsp of capers

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Set slightly salted pasta water on to boil

In a large pot sauté the garlic in the butter and when it browns discard it (I didn’t let the garlic brown and I didn’t discard it. I had it minced quite finely and didn’t find it too overpowering)

Add half the cream and all the zest from the lemon – keep the sauce warm

When the water boils cook the pasta till it’s al dente and drain it

Stir the pasta into the sauce and toss it for a minute or two over moderate heat (at this point I added about 3/4 of the Grana Padano cheese)

Make sure to stir in sufficient cream to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan (with the final few tosses I added the Tbsp of capers)

After a minute or so scoop the vermicelli into a serving bowl

Serve at once with the rest of the grated cheese

Get stuck in and enjoy with a side of garlic bread!