This dish was born out of my mum mishearing carbonara as crabonara – at the time neither of us had any idea that she had just inspired one of my best recipes yet (in my opinion anyway). It really is what it says on the tin – a carbonara but with crab instead of bacon. It’s a super quick dinner, perfect for a week night, that doesn’t skimp on quality or flavour. It really is a 15 minute meal – everything can be prepped while the pasta cooks. It’s creamy and rich like a carbonara, but with the delicate saltiness of crab instead of the salty punch from pancetta. 2 different but equally delicious meals. This version is a lot less rich than my Perfect Carbonara as it uses only the 1 egg per person, making it a bit more suitable for an everyday meal.
Crabonara
Serves 2 | 15 mins
Ingredients
200g long pasta (spaghetti or linguine work well)
100g mixed crab meat
1 large clove garlic
2 eggs
50g parmesan, grated + more for service
Freshly ground black pepper
Splash of olive oil
Method
- Cook the pasta in heavily salted boiling water 2 mins shorter than the packet says
- In the meantime, heat up a splash of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry until lightly golden. Add the crab and cook, stirring often, until warmed through. Set the pan aside
- Beat the eggs with the parmesan in a bowl and add freshly cracked black pepper. Near the end of the pasta cooking time, add 2-3 tablespoons of pasta water to this mix while stirring (this will temper the eggs).
- Once the pasta is cooked, transfer it to the frying pan with the crab in. Turn a hob to low heat but keep the pan away from the heat for the moment.
- Add the egg mix into the pasta pan, be sure to keep moving the pasta continuously to avoid scrambling the eggs.
- Move the pan on and off the heat, stirring continuously until the egg is cooked and a silky sauce has formed (a few mins, depends on your hob). If you think the pasta is too dry add a tablespoon or two of pasta water until it’s your desired consistency.
- Serve with more freshly cracked black pepper and grated parmesan.
Bakes By Meg 