Cooking for friend, pasta

[Kitterkitkat]

My friend is over at the weekend, we have exceptionally different eating likes but converge on Japanese and Italian.

As he likes chicken and I'm pescatarian I was thinking about cooking quorn chicken pieces and buying a tub of fresh tomato and vodka sauce to go with fettucine, topped with grated vegetarian parmesan, waitrose do an excellent one.

He's not keen on green vegetables but will eat peppers, onions etc. So do you think it's ok to just do the pasta and sauce topped with chopped parsley and basil and I have broccoli on the side? He won't feel left out!!

He doesn't do dessert either, he baffles me at times 🤣

Does he definitely like quorn? If I was him I'd rather have prawns if you're pescatarian because quorn doesn't actually taste like chicken. (If he likes prawns!)

Thanks @Dobbycraft, he's allergic to seafood. Eats salmon though. Not entirely sure about quorn I'll have to check as I've read some people can have an intolerance to it!

Cook a vegetarian dish and divide into two portions. Add preferred meat accordingly, if you like.

Buy a creamy mushroom sauce and add salmon?

I guess I could shred some chicken.

@Teacaketravesty he doesn't eat mushrooms either 🙂

Starting to think I should just get a cheese bake and baguette.

If he eats salmon and you eat fish can’t you do salmon for both of you?

Salmon penne à la vodka! I use this recipe https://www.italyum.com/pasta/penne-pasta-with-salmon-and-vodka-pennette-al-salmone-affumicato-e-vodka/

I was about to also suggest making pasta with smoked salmon. It's very quick, easy and tasty. Just shred the smoked salmon, gently fry it up with some butter, add double cream and gently warm it up. Stir cooked pasta through (you can boil some peas together with the pasta, if he tolerates them. It makes it a more balanced dish). Serve with freshly ground pepper on top (NO PARMESAN).

An alternative to pasta, that still leverages salmon, could be:

• teriyaki salmon, served with rice and soy-garlic stir fried vegs (onion, peppers and whatever else he enjoys)
• roast salmon (I like it topped with buttery breadcrumbs), roast potatoes and roast Mediterranean vegs (onions, peppers, courgettes, etc). Everything goes in the oven, so you can prep ahead and not worry about hands-on time while your guest is there.

Id rather have a version with no fake meat, and just the pasta and sauce.
Id totally understand no chicken at your house, but dont like meat substitutes.

I’d also prefer the sauce without quorn if it was me, and surely if your guest is fussy then quorn is a big risk.

It’s not remotely like chicken in taste or texture imo.

Salmon instead seems the obvious compromise!

I'm vegetarian (and I do like Quorn) but couldn't you just make macaroni cheese with garlic bread and then put a side salad in a bowl on the table so he can have some or leave it?

Macaroni cheese made well - i.e. LOADS of cheese, a decent strong cheddar in the sauce and topped with some sliced tomatoes and grated mozzarella too - is terrific!

If he’s picky I wouldn’t do quorn or smoked salmon.

No to fake meat.

Just do penne ala vodka and a side salad.

He can have a piece of chicken on the side if he really can’t survive a day without it.

Oh and the sauce for vodka pasta is really easy to make, if you want to do homemade.

Aha I iz fick, remembered he loves canned tuna and that would go very nicely with a creamy tomato sauce!

I'd do a pizza one day and a veggie stir fry the next. Keep it simple.

Oh it's not romantic or sexual, he only lives 10 minutes walk away and squabble like siblings.

But happy with tuna fettucine solution for later he'd like that :)

Isn't tuna seafood? I've never eaten any fish so I have no idea.

Why not just go out to eat (an Italian) (restaurant obviously not person) and then you can each choose what you’d like and save the stress

If he’s allergic to seafood don’t give him tuna for heavens sake !

No it's fish.

@Shoemadlady it was supposed to be a catch up at mine but I stupidly said I'd cook something 😆

He doesn't like restaurants either. Let this be a lesson to me. He's postponed to 10pm so definitely just 3 cheese bake and baguette as a supper.