The traditional fettuccine Alfredo only uses butter and parmesan. It doesn’t get much simpler than that, does it? However, using cream not only creates a delicious flavour, it is simpler to work with and there’s no way the dish becomes dry which was always a risk when I used just butter. Look, take out the cream if this makes nonsense to you because it isn’t authentic.
Alfredo di Lelio who gives his name to the dish was Roman restaurant owner which was searching for a great dish for his wife pregnant at the time but struggling with her loss of appetite. The original dish of fettucine al burro had parmesan cheese added to it and so came Alfredo. The dish was introduced in Italy in 1914 before the First World War took hold.
Best of all, you’ll have a restaurant quality meal dished up and ready to eat in less than 30 minutes!
Serves; 4-6: Preparation time: 8-10 minutes; Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 500g fettuccine
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 ½ cups double cream or heavy cream (optional)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded with more for garnish
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley or thyme, for garnish
Method:
- In a large pot of salted water, cook fettucine according to package directions which will be about 8 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water before draining.
- Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large skillet. Add cream and stir until mixture begins bubble and thicken, 2-3 minutes.
- Add cheese and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat, add pasta and stir until coated. If necessary, add cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the sauce and help it coat.
- Serve immediately garnished with parsley or thyme.
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