Angela Hartnett’s recipes for relaxed weekend pastas

Crab, to me, is a weekend dish. It’s a bit more expensive, so it feels like a treat – the kind of thing to make when you have friends over on a Saturday night. I also like it because it’s delicious year-round. For this recipe, you can switch the herbs depending on the season – basil in summer, parsley when it’s cooler, and so on. If you can get your hands on it, use British crab – Isle of Portland from Devon is a favourite of mine, and it’s worth seeking out a good picker who knows what they’re doing. (Nathan Outlaw has written brilliantly on how to cook and pick crab meat, and it’s well worth a read if you want to understand it properly.)

Gnocchi is also a weekend thing in our house. People often tell me they don’t make it at home – they think it’s too hard, but honestly it’s simple when you follow this recipe (and don’t overwork it). Better still, you can make it the night before – you can even go as far as blanching it lightly to seal it – so the fiddly bits are done ahead of time and you’re not too tied up in the kitchen when people arrive. It also happens to be one of the most seasonally adaptable dishes there is. At this time of year, I have it with sweet pumpkin with a bit of sage, they’re best friends and a combination that’s hard to beat.

Gnocchi with roasted pumpkin, chestnuts and sage

You can start both elements of this dish – the roasted pumpkin and the gnocchi – ahead of time. Don’t worry about making perfectly shaped gnocchi. The important thing is keeping the dough soft and lightly handled – too much flour or kneading will make them heavy.

Serves 4. Ready in 90 minutes

pumpkin or butternut squash 500g

olive oil

unsalted butter 80g

sage 12-15 leaves

garlic clove 1, lightly crushed

cooked chestnuts 100g, roughly broken

parmesan 40g, finely grated

lemon ½

For the gnocchi:

red désirée potatoes 600g

egg 1, plus 1 egg yolk

parmesan 100g, finely grated, plus extra to serve

nutmeg a pinch

‘00’ flour 160g, plus extra for dusting

Heat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Peel and cut the pumpkin into bite-sized pieces. Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes, until soft and nicely golden.

Meanwhile, make the gnocchi. Boil the potatoes whole and in their skins until completely tender. Drain, then peel them while they are still warm. Mash until completely smooth – ideally use a potato ricer if you have one.

Mix the egg, egg yolk, parmesan and a little nutmeg together, then gently mix into the warm potato. Add most of the flour and gently bring everything together into a soft dough. Don’t knead it like bread – the less you work it, the lighter the gnocchi will be.

Lightly flour the worktop. Divide the dough into a few pieces and roll each into a sausage about the thickness of your thumb. Cut into small, even gnocchi.

To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pan of salted water to a gentle boil. Add the gnocchi in batches. Once they float to the surface, give them another 30 seconds, then lift them out with a slotted spoon.

Just before serving, melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the sage and garlic and cook until the butter starts to turn golden and smell nutty. Life out and reserve the sage leaves. Add the chestnuts and roasted pumpkin and cook for another minute. Add the cooked gnocchi with a splash of their cooking water. Toss gently until everything is glossy and coated in the sage butter. Finish with the parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Taste and season with salt if needed.

Spoon into warm bowls and finish with a little more parmesan and the crispy sage leaves.

Linguine with crab, chilli and lemon

You want to add the crab right at the end and only warm it through gently. Cooking it for too long will make it dry and lose its lovely sweet flavour.

Serves 4. Ready in 20 minutes

dried linguine 400g

extra-virgin olive oil 60ml

garlic cloves 2, finely sliced

red chilli 1, finely chopped

dry white wine 100ml

white crabmeat 300g

flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, roughly chopped

lemon 1, zest finely grated

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the linguine and cook according to the packet instructions until al dente. Before draining, keep a mug of the pasta cooking water.

Gently heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and chilli and cook gently for 1-2 minutes, without letting the garlic colour. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for 1-2 minutes to reduce slightly.

Add the cooked linguine to the pan with a good splash of pasta water. Toss everything together until the pasta is glossy and coated. Turn the heat down and gently fold through the white crabmeat. Add a little more pasta water if it looks dry.

Take off the heat and add the parsley, remaining olive oil, finely grated lemon zest and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.

Twirl into warm bowls and finish with a little extra virgin olive oil, parsley and lemon zest.