Crab Tagliolini (Tagliolini al Granchio)

Andy | Dinner | Italian

Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Servings: 2

Tagliolini al granchio is a classic Italian coastal pasta and one of those dishes where the quality of what you buy matters more than how you cook it. A garlic and chilli-infused olive oil, fresh crab, a splash of white wine, lemon zest and parsley tossed through delicate egg pasta. It’s the kind of dish that looks like it might be harder than it is, but only takes 15 minutes to make at home.

Ingredient Notes

Fresh picked crab meat: The star of the dish. Look for fresh, hand-picked crab meat from a good fishmonger or seafood counter. A mix of white meat (for texture) and brown meat (for flavour) is ideal. Frozen picked crab thaws well and is a solid alternative. Avoid shelf-stable tinned crab, it’s usually too watery and mild for this dish.

Fresh tagliolini: A very thin, flat egg pasta from Northern Italy, similar to tagliatelle but narrower. Look for it fresh at Italian delis or larger supermarkets. If you can’t find it, fresh linguine or fettuccine are the closest swaps. Dried pasta works but the texture won’t be the same delicate chew.

Extra virgin olive oil: Use a good one. This dish is essentially oil-based, so the flavour of the olive oil comes through more than in a heavier pasta. A grassy, peppery EVOO is ideal, but any good-quality oil you’d happily eat straight will work.

Dry white wine: Something you’d happily drink. A pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, dry riesling or a Verdicchio all work. Don’t reach for cheap cooking wine, the flavour ends up in the finished sauce so it has to be decent.

Equipment

Large pot (for boiling the pasta)
Medium sauté pan or saucepan
Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Fine grater or microplane (for the lemon zest)
Tongs

Crab Tagliolini (Tagliolini al Granchio)

Ingredients

3½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
pinch of dried chilli flakes
300g fresh picked crab meat
100ml dry white wine
220g fresh tagliolini
1 lemon, zested
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely sliced
sea salt, to taste

Directions

Prep
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil.
Finely slice the parsley leaves and set aside. Zest the lemon and set aside.
Infuse the oil
Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the crushed garlic clove to a medium sauté pan over low heat. Infuse gently for 2 minutes, watching that the garlic doesn’t brown.
Add the chilli flakes and continue to infuse for another 2 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic clove. Turn the heat up to high.
Cook pasta and crab
Drop the tagliolini into the boiling water and stir to stop it clumping. Cook until al dente, around 2 to 3 minutes.
While the pasta cooks, add the crab meat to the sauté pan with another tablespoon of olive oil. Stir gently for 1 to 2 minutes to warm through, with a light pinch of salt. Once the crab has turned opaque, pour in the white wine and let it bubble hard for 30 seconds to cook off the raw alcohol.
Combine and finish
Use tongs to lift the cooked pasta directly into the sauté pan with the crab. A little of the pasta cooking water coming with it is a good thing.
Toss through until the pasta is coated. Pull the pan off the heat.
Add the lemon zest, sliced parsley and the remaining half tablespoon of olive oil. Toss through once more. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.
Divide between two bowls and serve immediately.

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Don’t overcook the crab

The crab is already cooked when it goes into the pan, so we’re just warming it through and picking up the flavours of the oil and wine. 1 to 2 minutes is all it needs. Overcook and it turns rubbery.

Lift the pasta with tongs, don’t drain it

Use tongs to lift the fresh tagliolini directly from the pot into the crab pan, bringing a little of the starchy pasta water with it. That splash of water helps the oil and crab bind into a proper sauce that coats the pasta. Draining hard in a colander loses that opportunity.

Add lemon and parsley off the heat

Both the zest and the parsley go in once the pan is off the burner. High heat dulls the lemon and wilts the parsley into something forgettable. Off the heat, both stay bright and fresh, which is the whole point of this dish.

Storage

This is a serve-fresh dish. It won’t be at its best more than an hour or two after cooking. If you must store leftovers, they’ll keep in the fridge for a day in an airtight container. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of olive oil and water. Add fresh parsley at the end. Skip the freezer, the crab and pasta both suffer.

FAQs

Can I use a different type of pasta? Fresh linguine, fettuccine or spaghetti all work well. Tagliolini is a thin, delicate egg pasta that catches the oil and crab particularly nicely, but any long fresh pasta will do the job. Dried pasta works too, though the texture won’t be as tender.

Can I use dried pasta? Yes. Fresh is better for this dish because of its texture, but dried spaghetti or linguine will still be very good. Cook to al dente as usual and use a bit more of the pasta water when combining to help the sauce bind.

What if I can’t get fresh crab? Frozen picked crab meat is a great substitute, just thaw it in the fridge overnight before use. Shelf-stable canned crab is a stretch and I’d only reach for it if there’s nothing else. A good-quality tinned tuna is a fair budget swap that will give you a similar dish in a different flavour direction.

Can I make it more filling as a main course? Yes, bump the pasta to 300g and add another 100g of crab, and it’ll comfortably feed two as a main. A scattering of toasted breadcrumbs on top adds texture, or serve it alongside a green salad and bread.