So we finally had a sunny day so I grabbed the dogs and hubby and headed to the coast. We go to a dog friendly beach near us called Winchelsea. We don’t gert to go on all sunny days as we like it low tide. But today was just right. Its about 40 minutes away and our treat is to buy a fresh local crab on the way home. Sometimes I just have a crab salad or I sometimes have crab on toast. As it was dinnertime when we got home I decided to have it with pasta like vongole (clams). It was so delicious and simple, such a great way to showcase this uber fresh crab.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 dressed crab
• ½ shallot, peeled and finally diced
• 1 sweet red pepper – de seeded and finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
• Juice and zest of a lemon
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Splash of cream
• 1 slice of bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Cook the pasta to packet instructions minus 1 minute cooking time. Drain keeping some of the pasta water incase you need it to loosen the sauce.
2. In a bowl add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, parsley, chives and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
3. Heat ½ tbsp of the olive oil to a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and fry stirring until they are golden and crispy. Stir in the lemon zest. Tip on kitchen paper and set aside.
4. Add the remaining olive oil to a frying pan and over a gentle heat cook the shallots, pepper and garlic for about 4-5 minutes until soft. Add the crabmeat and given it stir breaking up any larger pieces if you need to. Squeeze in the lemon juice and the splash of cream. Add in the cooked pasta and red pepper flakes, give it a toss to combine. If it seems a bit claggy add some of the pasta water to loosen it up.
5. Share between 2 servings bowls and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs. Enjoy 😊