Linguine with Tomatoes, Lemon, Chile and Crab

Credit: Catherine Roscoe Barr

Cookbook author Sophie Dahl says, “If there’s one good summer pasta dish in your repertoire this should be it.”

Serve up some candlelight and sultry tunes with this decadent, fresh pasta perfect for a romantic dinner 

On the eve of our ninth anniversary my husband and I whipped up a deliciously romantic dinner for two from a fabulous cookbook called Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights. We don’t often cook together so it was a treat to walk to the market, hand in hand, select fresh foods for our meal, and spend some time in the kitchen together.

I don’t think I’ve ever bought real crab before. It was messy and fun to get the gorgeous meat out of the shell. The BC-grown tomatoes were rich and flavourful, and even more lovely after a glug of olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, and a few minutes under the broiler.

I added the cream and Parmesan cheese to the original recipe and am glad I did. Much more calories but totally worth it!

This dish was so tasty, I can’t wait to make it again. The combination of fresh crab, hot chile, creamy Parmesan, scorched tomato, and tart lemon was marvelous! 

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• pinch sea salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
• 3/4 cup cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 cup cooked crabmeat, chopped
• 2 servings linguine
• 1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Cook linguine until al dente.
2. Toss tomatoes with salt and 1 tbsp oil and broil on low heat for 10 min.
3. Drain pasta, return to pot and add remaining oil, crabmeat, cream, cheese and lemon zest, stirring until well combined and crabmeat is hot.
4. Transfer pasta and crab mixture to serving platter, drizzle with lemon juice, and top with tomatoes and parsley. 
5. Serve immediately.