- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 scant tablespoon Maldon or other sea salt
- 1 large red chilli
- 2 pounds 11 ounces undressed crab, to give you 7 ounces white meat and 4 ounces darker meat
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 pound linguine
- Handful fresh parsley, chopped
- Handful watercress leaves, roughly torn
- Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta.
- In a large pestle and mortar pulverize 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 crabmeat, breaking it up gently with a fork, and pour in the oil. Zest the lemon into the mortar and then add the juice.
- 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.