Pink peppercorn pasta with crab
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Danielle Wood
Pink peppercorn pasta with crab
This twist on a cacio e pepe pairs sweet crab with fragrant pink peppercorns. Make sure to reserve some pasta water – it’s key to a silky-smooth sauce
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (serving)
Calories
569Kcal
Fat
14gr
Saturates
8gr
Carbs
76gr
Sugars
2gr
Fibre
5gr
Protein
36gr
Salt
2.3gr
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Head of Food. She loves the precision and creativity of baking, turning fridge odds-and-ends into a weeknight pasta, and is always bookmarking new restaurants to try. She's happiest hosting friends around a table overflowing with food (and insisting everyone has seconds) or planning holidays around what to eat.
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our Head of Food. She loves the precision and creativity of baking, turning fridge odds-and-ends into a weeknight pasta, and is always bookmarking new restaurants to try. She's happiest hosting friends around a table overflowing with food (and insisting everyone has seconds) or planning holidays around what to eat.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp pink peppercorns
- 200g Taste the Difference fusilli bucati lunghi (or other long-stranded pasta)
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 80g pecorino romano, finely grated
- 100g tub white crab (we used The Good Tide Seafood Co.)
Step by step
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, then toast the peppercorns for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Crush in a pestle and mortar, then set aside.
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil (the water should comfortably cover the pasta, but not by too much). Add the pasta with ½ teaspoon of salt and set a timer for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, scoop out about 200ml of the water into a measuring jug and allow to cool for about 3 minutes. Continue to cook the pasta for the remainder of the pack cooking instructions, until al dente.
- Meanwhile, put the cheese and most of the crushed pink pepper in a large bowl. Use a balloon whisk to beat in some of the pasta water to make a paste, then gradually continue to add enough pasta water to give the consistency of a white sauce. Drain the pasta, then add to the bowl and beat well until coated, adding more of the pasta water as necessary. Stir through the crab, then divide between warm bowls. Sprinkle over the reserved pink pepper and serve immediately.
