How to make Leiths' crab linguine with chilli and lemon

Mix white and brown crab meat for this refreshing seafood concoction from Leiths

Making pasta is less of a challenge than you might think. The secret is to make a smooth dough, and let it rest before rolling as thinly as possible. Really good fresh pasta takes moments to cook and requires very little embellishment.

A simple linguini or tagliatelli with fresh crab, basil, lemon juice and olive oil is hard to beat.

And once you have mastered the simpler shapes, try making ravioli, filled with ricotta and spinach, or finely chopped wild mushrooms. A sauce of melted butter with fresh sage is so easy it almost makes itself. Here we share the top tips from the Leiths chefs, to ensure perfect results every time.

Crab linguine with chilli and lemon

Serves 4

1 red chilli
2 garlic cloves
4 tbsp olive oil
1 unwaxed lemon
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
1 quantity fresh linguine (from previous page) or 400g dried
​200g white crab meat
​100g brown crab meat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Halve, deseed and finely chop the chilli, peel and finely slice the garlic. Put both in a small saucepan with the olive oil. Heat until the garlic sizzles and just starts to brown, then remove from the heat and set aside to infuse. Finely grate the zest of half the lemon, then squeeze the juice from the zested half and set aside. Pick the leaves from the parsley and roughly chop, leaving a few sprigs to garnish.

2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and, when at a rolling boil, salt generously and add the linguine. Cook for 1-3 minutes, depending on its thickness and how much it has dried out. Test it regularly and drain when it is al dente.

3. While the pasta is draining, add the infused oil with the chilli and garlic to the pan the pasta was in. Place over a low heat, add the white and brown crab meat and stir just until heated through. Remove from the heat and add the drained linguine back to the pan (this should all be done quite quickly as the pasta will stick together if left too long in the colander).

4. Stir the chopped parsley into the pasta and add the lemon zest and juice to taste. Season with pepper and very little salt, then serve immediately, garnished with the reserved parsley sprigs.

Note: Use the white and brown meat from a freshly cooked crab or good-quality tinned crab meat.

Camilla Schneideman is the managing director of Leiths School of Food and Wine. To book the week-long Key Cooking Skills course, click here. ‘Leiths How to Cook’ by Leiths School of Food and Wine (Quadrille, £30) Photography © Peter Cassidy