Crab spaghetti

This dish is found all over the coast of Italy. It is wonderful made with brown Dorset crabs.

I ate a similar dish at the River Cafe. It was seasoned with fennel seeds and fronds, and was splendid.

The Italian Kitchen, Channel 4. 11 steps

1 large crab	Add to pan of cold water, bring to boil	brown meat	Mix in ratio 5 parts white to 1 part brown	Serve with spaghetti. The heat of the spaghetti warms the crab.
2 handfuls salt		white meat
1/2 red chilli	deseed, chop finely		mix in
flat leaf parsley	chop finely
1 clove garlic	bruise
salt and pepper			season
1/2 lemon	juice		mix in
lots olive oil

This can be made with precooked crab meat, but freshly cooked meat is more receptive to the sauce.

To deal with a crab: Snap off claws, pull off legs. With fingers in the claw sockets, gently ease off base of shell. Discard the long and whiskery dead man's fingers. Scoop the brown meat out of the shell. Whack the claws with a pestle and pick out the white meat, trying to keep it in large pieces.