Cocoa gruè, canestrini tomatoes and the freshest crabs: get these ingredients for a pasta with fish that will bring creativity into your home. Valentino Cassanelli's word.

Photos by Gabriele Stabile

Bavetta with Lucchese canestrino tomato, crab and cocoa

Preparation: 13 minutes

Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Serves for: 4 people

320 g bavette or linguine

For the tomato broth

480 g canestrini tomatoes from Lucca
80 g red onion
10 g desalted capers
3 g lemon zest
5 g thyme
3 g basil
5 g tamari

For the crab

1 crab of about 600 g
30 g extra-virgin olive oil
35 g onion
10 g garlic
35 g fennel
35 g celery
10 g ginger
180 g datterini tomatoes
5 g lime juice
40 g extra-virgin olive oil from Quercetano

For the crab salad

The pulp obtained from the crab
1.5 g of cocoa grue
12 g avocado
2 g red chili
3 g lime juice
10 g extra-virgin olive oil
Tomato broth

Blend the canestrini tomatoes and onion in a cutter, put everything to drain in a hetamine bag so you get the tomato and onion water. Bring the resulting liquid to 80 degrees and add the capers, lemon zest, thyme and basil. Allow to steep 20 minutes before straining and adding the tamari sauce.

Crab emulsion

Cook the crab in salted water for 5 minutes per 500 g weight. Cool it in ice water, gently break open the carapace and extract the white flesh, making sure to leave no trace of carapace crumbs.

Separate the crustacean's brain and coral and keep them aside.

Brown a brunoise of onion, garlic, fennel, celery and ginger and once browned add the shredded carapaces. Toast the same in a casserole and add the datterini before wetting with 1 liter of cold water. Simmer 45 minutes before straining through fine strainer.

Emulsify from hot with the crab brain and coral and finish with Quercetan oil and lime juice resulting in a velvety and tasty emulsion.

Crab salad

Dress the crab meat with the grue, avocado and red chile brunoise, lime juice and extra-virgin olive oil.

Cooking the pasta.

Bring the tomato broth to a boil and cook the bavette directly in it as if it were a risotto, arriving at the cooking time with the restricted liquid; proceed directly to the mantecatura with extra-virgin olive oil quercetano, resulting in an al dente pasta that is flavorful and creamy at the same time. Take advantage of the savoriness of the vegetables, capers, and tamari to avoid the need for added salt.

Finishing

Plate the bavetta like a nest with the help of kitchen tongs and a ladle, place the crab salad on top and in an animated manner, and finish in front of the guests with the warm and frothy crab emulsion.