Moreton bay bugs on angel hair pasta

• Serves 4

• Preparation time: 1 hour

• Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
25g butter
8 Moreton Bay Bugs, shells removed, meat coarsely chopped
Chopped chives or parsley, to garnish

Pasta
300g plain flour, plus extra, to toss
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

Pasta sauce
80ml extra virgin olive oil
3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chillies, finely chopped
1/2 green chilli, finely chopped
1 x 250g punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
25g butter, chopped
1/2 bunch chives, finely chopped

Method

1. To make pasta, place flour and salt on a work surface, make a well in the centre and add eggs and egg yolk into it. Using a fork, draw in flour until mixture is thick, then use hands to work in remaining flour. Knead dough for 6 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding extra flour if dough is sticky. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Divide dough into four even-sized portions. Using a rolling pin, flatten 1 portion until 5mm thick and about 12cm wide – nearly the width of your pasta machine. Set your pasta machine at its widest setting, then feed the dough through, narrowing the settings on your machine one notch at a time until you reach the thinnest setting and have a pasta sheet about 2mm thick. Repeat with remaining dough.

3. Pass sheets through the smallest cutting setting to make angel hair pasta. As each sheet is cut, toss strands in flour to keep them separate. Set aside.

4. Meanwhile, heat oil, lemon juice and butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add bug meat and cook for 1-2 minutes or until just cooked. Transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm.

5. To make pasta sauce, place oil, anchovies, garlic and chillies in a large, deep frying pan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and butter and cook for a further 1 minute, then stir in chives.

6. Add pasta to a large saucepan of salted boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Drain, then add to sauce and stir to combine.

7. Spoon pasta and sauce on serving plates, then top with bug meat and any cooking juices. Garnish with chives or parsley to serve.

Notes

Tips:

- Anchovy fillets are a wonderful addition to pasta sauces. Rather than tasting overtly fishy, they melt down to give a subtle flavour that enhances the sauce and the other ingredients.
- If Moreton Bay bugs are unavailable, substitute it for lobster, prawns or scallops.
- Serve this dish with extra virgin olive oil to drizzle and some lemon wedges.