Crab, sweetcorn, chilli
I went to university in the country. The town was mostly dominated by university students
except for one weekend in October, when the population would swell for the Bathurst 1000,
a V8 motorcar race that circled Mount Panorama. Like every good Aussie country town, there
was a family-run Chinese restaurant on the main strip. Enjoying university life to the fullest,
Happy’s Chinese would be my Sunday night recovery dinner. Their sweetcorn and crab noodle
soup (I’m only now questioning the freshness of the crab considering the town is more than
200 km from the ocean) had extraordinary curative powers after a big night out.
Of course, the only thing I’m pulling from this story is the combination of corn and crab
(I’m glad to have those days behind me), as the sweetness of both pair very nicely. Then there’s
the bright colour of the sweetcorn, which is so joyful to look at. Tossed through egg pasta and
£nished with butter, chilli and chives, this pasta also has healing powers for the soul.
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Serves 4
2 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil
4 spring onions, nely sliced
2 garlic cloves, nely chopped
1 bird’s eye chilli, nely chopped
(optional or only add half if you
prefer less heat)
2 large or 3 small sweetcorn
cobs, husks removed, kernels
sliced o
sea salt
1 tablespoon salted butter
225 g fresh crab meat
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 bunch of chives, nely snipped
FRESH PASTA FOR 4
linguine, tagliolini
DRIED PASTA FOR 4
angel hair, linguine, spaghetti
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan over
medium heat. Add the spring onion, garlic and chilli (if using)
and cook for 2 minutes or until soft but not brown. Add the
sweetcorn kernels, along with 500 ml (2 cups) of water. Season
with salt. Cook for 30 minutes or until the sweetcorn is bright
yellow, soft and creamy, adding a dash more water if things start
to dry up along the way. It will smell almost buttery.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a lively boil and
season as salty as the sea. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Tip the sweetcorn mixture and 60 ml (¼ cup) of pasta cooking
water into a blender or food processor and blitz for at least
2minutes to create a smooth yellow puree. You’re looking for
apourable puree, so feel free to add more pasta cooking water
if you feel itneeds it. Season with salt.
Wipe out the frying pan, then add the butter and return the pan
to medium heat. When the butter is melted and foaming, pour
in your corn puree and reduce the heat to low.
Drain the pasta, reserving 250 ml (1 cup) of the cooking water.
Throw the pasta into your corn puree, along with half of the
reserved cooking water. Give the mixture a strong stir to bring
everything together, adding more cooking water if you need to
loosen things up. Finally, stir through the crab, the lemon zest
and juice and half the chives.
Divide the pasta among bowls, scatter over the remaining chives
and serve immediately.