The Lea-Wilson’s say: “A simple dish that tastes like far more than the sum of its parts. The lemon really shines through and elevates the delicate crab to something special. Roasted asparagus makes a very good vegetarian or vegan alternative.”

Serves: 2 as a main or 4 as a side

Ingredients

50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (seeds and all)
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 lemons
150g dried linguine
Small bunch of parsley, stalks and leaves finely chopped separately
200g white crab meat
Finer flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Once it’s boiling, add plenty of salt.

Heat the olive oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot, chilli, garlic, grated zest of one of the lemons and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, or until the shallot is soft and translucent and the garlic is starting to turn golden.

Meanwhile, lower the pasta into the boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions.

Cut the two ends off the zested lemon and use a sharp knife to slice off the skin and white pith, leaving just the juicy lemon flesh inside.

Cut the lemon into 1cm rounds, discarding the pips as you go, then roughly chop into 1cm pieces. Cut the other lemon into wedges and set aside for serving, if you like. Add the chopped lemon and parsley stalks to the shallot mixture in the pan and stir to combine, then cook for three to four minutes, stirring frequently, until the parsley stalks are tender. Add the crab meat and stir to combine, then cook for two minutes, or until the crab meat is piping hot. Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper, if you like.

Drain the pasta, reserving three tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan and stir through the pasta cooking water, the vegetable and crab mixture and the chopped parsley leaves. Use tongs to mix everything together until thoroughly combined.

Serve on warmed plates with plenty of black pepper and the reserved lemon wedges for squeezing over, although this is so citrusy you may not need to.

From Sea Salt by the Lea-Wilson Family (£26, White Lion Publishing), out now

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