Crab and prawn linguine

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter, diced

160g raw Sicilian red prawns, unpeeled but heads removed

120g cherry tomatoes, halved, use a mixture of red and yellow if available

100g shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

About 100ml water

160g cooked white crab meat

Coriander cress, to garnish

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pasta:

A pinch of saffron threads 

180ml warm water

500g Italian flour, plus extra for dusting and rolling

2 egg yolks

Method:

1. The pasta dough can be made up to one day in advance, covered with clingfilm and chilled until required. First put the saffron threads in the water, cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain the saffron water and discard the saffron threads. Combine the flour, egg yolks and a pinch of salt in a food processor, then slowly add the saffron water through the feed tube. When the dough comes together in a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Unwrap the dough, put it on a lightly floured surface and cut it into four equal pieces, then shape into flattish ovals. Keep the pieces you aren’t working with covered with a clean kitchen towel. Lightly dust the rollers on a pasta machine and set it to setting one. Feed the dough through the rollers twice, then change the setting to two and repeat. Gradually increase the settings and feed the dough through twice on each setting until you have a nice smooth and thin consistency. Place on a lightly floured tray and cover, then repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Fix the linguine-cutting attachment to the pasta machine and cut the dough sheets into fine noodles. Dust well with flour, cover with clingfilm and chill until required.

3. When you are ready to cook, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. While the water is coming up to the boil, melt the butter in a sauté pan over a medium heat. When it is foaming, add the prawns and sauté just until they turn pink, then set them aside. Add the tomatoes, shallots and garlic to the pan with about half the water, cover the pan and leave until the tomatoes are softened. Add more water, if necessary – it all depends on how juicy the tomatoes are. Leave to slowly simmer while you cook the pasta.

4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for no more than two minutes until it is al dente. Drain well, reserving about 100ml of the cooking liquid, then add the pasta to the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the crab to the sauce and warm through, then adjust the consistency of the sauce with the reserved cooking liquid if necessary. Divide the pasta and sauce among four plates and top with the prawns. Garnish with the coriander cress and serve immediately.

M: A 24 Hour Cookbook by Michael Reid (Absolute Press, £30.00) is out now.