Italian Specialty That Detoured Through Moscow

“This recipe is named after my wife, Tatyana,” Tony Bartholomew writes, “a Russian citizen who has been unable to immigrate to join me for three years now. We have cooked this dish many times at her apartment in Moscow. I started with my mother’s recipe of fettuccine Alfredo and modified it several times according to what was available in Moscow.”

FETTUCCINE TATYANA

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 tablespoons clam juice

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced parsley

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 bay leaves

2 (3 3/4-ounce) cans smoked oysters, drained

1 pound green fettuccine

2 egg yolks

1 1/3 cups sour cream

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt

Heat 3 tablespoons butter and olive oil in skillet. Saute onion and garlic until tender. Add clam juice, lemon juice, parsley, lemon peel, pepper and bay leaves. Simmer until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Remove bay leaves. Add oysters and heat thoroughly. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain and keep warm in warmed bowl.

Beat egg yolks lightly and add to sour cream. Add remaining butter to oysters to melt. Place drained fettuccine in warm bowl. Pour sour cream mixture and oyster sauce over fettuccine. Add half of Parmesan cheese. Toss gently, adding remaining cheese a little at a time until well blended. Season to taste with salt. Makes 6 servings.

-- TONY BARTHOLOMEW

Fountain Valley