Vjeze’s pasta with things that don’t seem to make sense

They say the way to the heart is through the stomach—we all know that. So does Vjeze Fur. With a little (a lot of) imagination, he managed to win over the love of his life. And he did it with this crazy pasta. Make the most of it.

Freddy: ‘When I was still a 21-year-old puppy Vjezla, I won over the love of my life with this. I was a bit strange back then, and she found that interesting. When I told her I was going to cook for her, she couldn’t imagine it and didn’t know what to expect. I grabbed a tin of crab, oyster mushrooms, tagliatelle, a bell pepper and a few other things. She later told me she thought I was just picking up random things I passed by and liked the taste of. Little did she know that there was a method to the madness.’

How to make it:

1. Cut the bell pepper into 1-centimeter strips. Finely chop the shallots and garlic. Tear the oyster mushrooms into small strips. Remove the seeds from the red chili pepper and cut it into small pieces. Finely chop the parsley. Strip the thyme leaves from the sprigs.
2. In a frying pan over high heat, fry the oyster mushrooms with a generous splash of olive oil and the butter. They don’t need to be completely cooked, but should be golden brown in places. Toss them every minute for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling water with some salt for about 10 minutes, until al dente.
4. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the bell pepper strips, preferably skin-side down. Fry for 6 minutes. Then add the shallots, garlic and red chili and fry them until lightly browned as well.
5. Now add the heavy cream and crumble in half the stock cube. Add the thyme. Reduce for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Drain the crabmeat. Add the crab and the fried oyster mushrooms. Toss a few times until the mushrooms are soft.
6. Drain the tagliatelle. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir well. Divide among the plates. Sprinkle the parsley over the dish and squeeze some lemon juice over it.

Title: Lekker Fred
Author: Freddy Tratlehner
Publisher: Carrera Culinair
Price: €25,-

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