Crab, Chilli and Asparagus Pappardelle

This pasta dish is one of my absolute favourites - there's barely a sauce, the rich brown crab meat and white wine plus all the seasonings make just the most delicious coating for the thick pasta, and the white crab meat stirred in last minute plus lots of fresh parsley add a delicacy and freshness that is just beautiful.

I used fresh pappardelle from La Tua but dried is good too and you can use the more traditional linguini or spaghetti too but I just love this combination.

The below serves two as a main course.

Here's how:

200g fresh pappardelle
1 whole medium dressed crab (brown and white meat)
4 spring onions
1 clove garlic
1 whole red chilli
Handful of asparagus
1 courgette
2 tbsp white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley
Salt and black pepper
Zest of a whole lemon, juice of half

Firstly drizzle the olive oil into a pan and place on a low heat. Also boil the kettle or put a pan of water on ready for the pasta.

Now finely chop the spring onions and chilli and mince the garlic and add all to the pan to flavour the oil and slowly soften.

Use a vegetable peeler to slice the courgette into ribbons, halve and set aside. Break the tips off of the asparagus and discard the thick ends.

Add the asparagus tips to the pan, and then pour over the white wine. Allow to cook for two minutes.

Add the brown crab meat and use a wooden spoon to break apart so it's evenly distributed.

If using fresh pasta this is the time to place it on to cook with a pinch of salt as it only takes four to five minutes from here.

Chop the parsley finely and keep to one side.

Add the courgette ribbons to the pan too and move around with the wooden spoon.

Add about a third of the parsley at this stage.

Once cooked to your preference, take a tablespoon full of the pasta water and add to the crab mix, drain the pasta then add to the pan and give a good stir to ensure that the pasta is coated.

Now add the white crab meat, the parsley and grate on the zest of a whole lemon stirring all the time. This should only be just heated through for a minute or two.

Now cut the lemon in half and before serving squeeze over the juice of half of the lemon, season with salt and pepper and give a final stir.

Frugal yet Fabulous: Vapiano

On a wonderful weekend in Stockholm with 6 friends last summer we discovered an eaterie that I thought was just brilliant; Vapiano. Something that is almost unheard of - a high-quality and fast food Italian joint that doesn't break the bank. We visited Vapiano on our last day when all of us were feeling slightly delicate after a heavy weekend of drinking and were all suitably impressed.

On our return I googled the restaurant and found that this is a chain which began in Germany and they have worldwide locations - including two here in London.

I was determined to visit one of the London locations which are in Great Portland Street and Southwark and just a couple of weeks ago I finally made it and was again in awe of what is an almost unique and brilliant concept.

Vapiano works in a canteen-style fashion. On entering each person is given a card, and once a table is chosen you go to the various stations, order what you require and swipe the card. You then wait while the dish is cooked fresh before your eyes and in my case nosily converse with the various chefs.

I visited the Great Portland Street site and found there is a designated area for pizzas, around 10 stations for pasta and a whole area for salads.

Both in Sweden and London I opted for pasta and thought it was great you can choose from eight types according to your preference. There are a range of different sauces you can choose to go with your pasta.

The menu segregates certain dishes into groups a, b, c etc and each increases in price - however all offer excellent value for money. The pizza menu works exactly the same way. The lower price bracket is a tiny £6.10 and the highest is £9.10 - personally I think you'd struggle to get a decent bowl of pasta in central London for this amount.

On this occasion I had pappardelle with the 'scampi e spinaci' sauce which included king prawns, spinach and basil pesto in a creamy sauce. Very happily for me, engaging in conversation with the chef while he cooked my dinner, I mentioned that I enjoy spice a lot - so he added a chopped green chilli to my dish and I have to say it was excellent. I also had a tomato and mozzarella salad which was lovely, fresh and flavourful.

I dined with four friends but won't go into detail about their food - only to say that it was all eaten, and all enjoyed. The only minor complaint was that a couple of the dishes were excessively garlicy (something that has been happening to me a lot lately - see post on Les Deux Salons).

There's a very informal atmosphere in Vapiano and when we went on a Wednesday, early evening, it was absolutely jam-packed. The tables are mainly high with stools and each table is equipped with freshly growing basil, and an array of different oils.

For the value it provides the quality of food is excellent and I think the card system is great too. Each person pays their own individual bill on the way out - there's no awkwardness at the end of the meal with people scrutinising who might have had what, and no paying for any sneaky diners who never quite pay their way either. If particularly skint you could choose one of the Group A (£6.10) pastas or pizza and just have the frequently replenished water, if only to still be able to dine out with friends or family.

My meal included the most expensive bracket of pasta and the mozzarella salad - which is actually large enough to share between three as a side dish, as well as a large glass of white wine and I had change from £20. It's the type of restaurant you could eat in at the end of the month when funds are running extremely thin.

I can't understand why there aren't more Vapiano's about - judging from my experiences in both venues, they are far superior, and offer better value than the chains such as Bella Italia and the like that litter almost every high street.

If you haven't already, get yourself down to one of the Vapianos and try it for yourself. Judging from the crowds it 's here to stay and I for one hope it becomes the Italian-style equivalent to Nandos - a cheap yet powerful place to eat good, honest food and enjoy the company of friends. Sure, this isn't fine-dining by any stretch of the imagination but who is to suggest that frugal can't be fabulous.

http://www.vapiano.de/frame.php?section=home&lang=uk