Two delicious recipes, for linguine and for liver, that are easy and impressive
- Learn how to make linguine with crab fat, seared scallops and bottarga, and calf’s liver with bacon, onion and cream
- Take a break from calorie counting – everyone deserves to indulge once in a while
I am waiting for the day when doctors tell us that they have been wrong all along and that having high cholesterol isn’t harmful to our health. After all, they have changed their minds about so much other dietary advice: that we should restrict our salt intake, eat less fat and avoid eggs, coffee, chocolate and coconut oil.
These recipes are unabashedly high in cholesterol, but they are not for everyday eating; instead, eat them as you should everything else – as part of a balanced diet, but with pleasure.
Linguine with crab fat, seared scallops and bottarga
I am fortunate in that friends from the Philippines keep me well supplied with taba ng talangka, which is also known as aligue, or crab fat. Sold in jars, it is the tomalley and roe from small crabs. In Hong Kong, you can buy it at grocers specialising in ingredients from the Philippines (although you might need to order it; try the shops in World-Wide House, Central).
If you can’t find it, hairy crab roe – also sold in jars – is an excellent (although pricier) substitute; you can buy it from shops that carry Shanghainese ingredients. Look on the label for “pure crab fat”, which, although it might contain oil and citric acid (or another stabiliser), won’t (or shouldn’t) have garlic, lemongrass or other flavourings.
Bottarga is Italian cured, dried and pressed fish roe that can be grated or sliced. The Japanese and Taiwanese also make a similar product, called karasumi and wu yu zi, respectively. If you can’t find it, garnish the dish with chopped parsley.
