Ingredients
Serves 46 soft shell crabs, prepared as per directions
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, chopped (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons chopped red chilli, not the extra hot variety
6 tablespoons Stefano's extra virgin olive oil (available from good delis)
350g good quality spaghetti.
Freshly chopped parsley
Pepper to taste and a little salt (the crabs can be a little salty)
Method
This recipe brings together soft shell crab - moeche in Venetian - and also a little ginger, an ingredient which was once very much in use in Venice.
This is neither an original recipe nor an authentic one. It is made up for a bit of fun.
Soft shell crabs are available frozen from specialist fish shops. Remove the eyes and mouth with a sharp knife, leaving the shell and remove the so-called dead man fingers. They are not quite the same as moeche but an excellent substitute.
Method
Bring a large pot of water to the boil and salt adequately.
In a large saucepan heat the oil. When hot, add the chilli, garlic and ginger and, immediately after, add the crabs. Place a lid on the saucepan to keep the moisture in the pan.
Add the spaghetti to the water and cook very much al dente.
In the meantime, turn the crabs over and cook a little longer. Extract them and chop them on a board. Return to the pan.
Drain the spaghetti and toss in the pan adding parsley and pepper if needed.
Some parts of the crabs may be chewy, but the flavour of the spaghetti is incomparable. Absolutely don't add cheese.