This is a delicious fresh take on a summer pasta dish! This reminds me of holidays in Sorrento surrounded by the famous Amalfi Lemons because of the zing of the preserved lemon paste used in this recipe. It is not a traditional Italian recipe by any means but has the zingy freshness, with a creamy but luxurious sauce with the briny sweetness of the crab and prawns, the subtle smokiness of the salmon finished with a little warmth of chilli in the background makes this a decadent yet fresh summer meal.
By all means do this either all crab, all prawn or all salmon… it is also delicious with cooked left over roasted shredded chicken. Make it veggie but omitting the meat and upping the courgettes and using veg stock!
Serves 2 (as a main)
Ingredients:
2-3tbsp butter
2tbsp olive oil
1 small courgette, 1cm dice
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 small bottle white wine
8 tbsp chicken stock (one knorr stock pot mixed with 250ml boiling water)
150ml double cream
3-4 heaped tsp preserved lemon paste (m&s do this in their ingredients range- If you can not get hold of it, add the additional zest and juice of one lemon)
1 lemon juice, only
4 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
4-6 tbsp parmesan, finely grated
160-200g uncooked pasta (I used a lemon flavoured one but a plain linguine or tagliatelle would be just as delicious)
80g of white crab meat (I used fresh but tinned is fine- just drain it)
1 cup of cooked small prawns
1/2 tbsp olive oil
Sweet smoked paprika
150g salmon fillet, skinless
Salt and pepper
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 180’c.
Rub salmon with 1/2 tbsp of the olive oil, sprinkle over paprika, salt and pepper. Place into an oven proof dish and cook for 8-10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
In a large frying pan, add the oil and butter and heat until they start to sizzle.
Add the courgette, shallot, garlic and chilli and fry on a high heat for 5 minutes until the courgette gets a little colour but still has bite.
Add the wine, stock, preserved lemon and lemon juice. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes until reduced slightly. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Cook pasta as per instructions (the minimum time required for al dente) in fairly salty water. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water and drain well.
Add the crab and prawns to the sauce, stir to incorporate. Add the parmesan and half the chives and and stir. Flake in the salmon fillet leaving nice chunks. Add the pasta and stir gently making sure all the pasta is covered in the sauce. Bring to a simmer, 1-2 minutes. Add the reserved pasta cooking water, stir, check seasoning add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve into bowls and sprinkle over remaining chives. I topped mine with some extra chilli flakes, home grown borage flowers and nasturtium leaves.
Emmi's Kitchen 