Equipment
Ingredients
Spinach Pasta Dough
- 100 g fresh spinach, washed
- 300 g type 00 flour
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 50 g semolina flour, for dusting
Crab & Tomato Sauce
- 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic, finely sliced
- 1 red chilli, finely diced
- 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 60 ml dry white wine
- 250 g cooked crab meat, picked over for shells
- 10 g fresh basil, torn
- 1 lemon, zested
- 5 g salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly cracked
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Bring a small amount of water to a boil. Blanch the fresh spinach for 30 seconds until wilted, then immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to preserve the bright green color.
Drain the spinach and place it in a clean kitchen towel. Squeeze out as much water as humanly possible. Transfer the dry spinach bundle to a food processor, add the eggs, and puree until completely smooth.
Pour the type 00 flour onto a clean work surface and create a well in the center. Pour the spinach-egg puree into the well. Using a fork, gradually incorporate the flour from the inner walls of the well until a shaggy dough forms.
Knead the dough vigorously for 8 to 10 minutes. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature.
Rest the dough to allow the gluten to relax.
Unwrap the rested dough, cut it in half, and flatten one piece. Pass it through the widest setting of a pasta machine. Fold it in thirds like a letter and pass it through again. Continue passing the dough through progressively thinner settings until you reach about 1.5mm thickness (usually setting 6 or 7).
Pass the rolled pasta sheets through the tagliolini cutter attachment, or cut by hand into 2-3mm wide ribbons. Toss the cut pasta generously with semolina flour and form into loose nests on a tray.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil at 100°C/212°F.
In a large skillet, gently heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the sliced garlic and diced red chilli, cooking slowly until fragrant but completely uncolored.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the halved cherry tomatoes. Toss them in the infused oil until their skins begin to blister and soften.
Pour in the dry white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any fond. Allow the wine to reduce by half.
Drop the fresh tagliolini nests into the boiling salted water. Stir immediately to separate the strands. Cook briefly, as fresh pasta cooks very quickly.
Reduce the skillet heat to low. Fold the picked crab meat into the tomato sauce just to warm it through. Using tongs, transfer the cooked pasta directly from the boiling water into the skillet, bringing some starchy pasta water along with it. Toss vigorously to emulsify the sauce with the oil and pasta water until perfectly glossy.
Remove the skillet from the heat. Fold in the torn fresh basil leaves, freshly grated lemon zest, salt, and cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- When picking through crab meat, spread it thinly on a baking sheet and use a blacklight if possible; crab shell fragments fluoresce brightly under UV light.
- Do not skip the ice bath for the spinach. Shocking the leaves halts the cooking process and sets the chlorophyll, guaranteeing a vibrant emerald green dough rather than a dull olive color.
- If your kitchen is particularly dry or humid, the exact hydration of the pasta dough will change. Rely on touch rather than exact measurements—the dough should feel like soft modeling clay.
- Tearing basil rather than chopping it with a knife prevents the edges from bruising and oxidizing, preserving both its appearance and aromatic oils.
- Fresh pasta absorbs sauce much faster than dried pasta. Always keep a cup of hot pasta water nearby to adjust the sauce consistency right before plating.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 day — Seafood pasta is highly perishable. Store promptly in an airtight container.
Reheating: Reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of water to revive the emulsion. Do not microwave, as it will turn the crab tough.
