Golden fried crab and basil spaghetti

Lovely and light, and using the finest ingredients, this is one of the quickest pasta dishes to make. The flavours of the crab, wine and cream intermingle beautifully, lifted by the lemon and basil. A whole dressed crab consists of white and brown meat – the brown meat giving richness to the dish – but you can use white meat if you prefer.

Makes 6 servings

350g dried spaghetti 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 100ml white wine 150ml pouring double cream 1 dressed crab (about 120g in the shell), removed from shell and the shell discarded Juice and finely grated zest of 1

lemon 100g fresh white crabmeat 75g fresh white breadcrumbs large bunch of fresh basil, chopped, plus extra whole leaves to garnish salt and freshly ground black

pepper Cook the spaghetti in a saucepan of boiling salted water, according to the packet instructions.

While the spaghetti is cooking, heat half the oil in large, deep frying pan (it needs to be large enough to toss the spaghetti into the sauce).

Add the onion and cook over a high heat for 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for a further 10 minutes or until tender.

Add the garlic and fry over a high heat for a minute.

Pour in the wine and boil until reduced by just under half (this will only take a couple of minutes in a large pan).

Add the cream with the dressed crabmeat, lemon juice and half the lemon zest.

Sprinkle in most of the basil (reserving some to garnish), season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring continuously for a few minutes until combined.

Drain the spaghetti and add to the wine and crab sauce, stirring it in to coat well in the sauce.

In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil until hot, then add the fresh white crabmeat with the breadcrumbs and the remaining lemon zest and fry for a couple of minutes until golden.

Divide the spaghetti between bowls and serve scattered with the fried crabmeat and reserved basil.