Spicy Crab Spaghettini

I made this after watching Nigella Lawson last night on the Asian Food Network. I added pine nuts to it for that extra crunch. Be sure your fish monger does a good job of picking out all the shells in the crab meat. Freshness is key.

1 scant tablespoon Maldon salt

2 cloves of garlic

4-5 large red chillies
1.25kg undressed crab, to give you 200g white meat and 100g brown meat
125ml extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of 1 1/2 lemons
500g linguine

50g pine nuts, lightly toasted
handful fresh parsley, chopped
handful watercress leaves, roughly torn

Parmigiano Reggiano for serving

In a large pestle and mortar pulverise 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 crab meat, 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. Boil a pot of water and cook pasta till al dente.

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, watercress and pine nuts and toss again. Serve with grated parmesan.