Recipe for pasta alfredo (fettuccine)
I am generally a huge fan of the simple pasta dishes of the Italian cuisine: Spaghetti Carbonara and Cacio e Pepe. So I constantly experiment with making these dishes and now I have managed to perfect a Pasta Alfredo.
It is a classic of Italian cuisine and originally hails from Rome. It became famous thanks to Alfredo Di Lelio, who introduced the dish in his restaurant in the early 20th century. The dish was created in an attempt to satisfy his pregnant wife’s cravings. She loved it so much that Alfredo decided to add it to his restaurant menu. The original recipe consists only of fettuccine, butter, and parmesan, but today there are many variations with cream, mushrooms, and even chicken.
Why is it so popular in the USA? Apparently, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks ate at Alfredo di Lelio’s restaurant in Rome during their honeymoon in 1927.
They loved his Fettuccine Alfredo and when they returned to the USA, they couldn’t praise this delicious creamy pasta dish enough. Then in 1966, the Pennsylvania Dutch Noodle Company started marketing their “Fettuccine Egg Noodles,” which included cream and Swiss cheese along with Parmesan and butter.
I make the completely classic and original recipe here.
Pasta Alfredo (Fettuccine)
Equipment
- Pot
- Grater
- Sauterparnde if you don't have one, use the pot you boiled the pasta in
Ingredients
- 500 gram Pasta I used fettuccine
- 100 gram Butter
- 150 gram Parmesan freshly grated
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil. I usually use 15 grams of salt per liter of water. Here, I boiled it in 2 liters of water, so I used 30 grams of salt.
- Grate the Parmesan into a bowl.
- Cut the butter into smaller pieces.
- Put the pasta in the water and cook it 1 minute less than the package instructions.
- Put butter and half of the Parmesan in a sauté pan and melt it over low heat, stirring regularly.
- When the pasta is done, remove it from the boiling water with a pasta spoon and transfer it directly to the sauté pan, ensuring some of the cooking water comes along.
- Turn off the heat and stir well continuously for 1-3 minutes while adding the rest of the Parmesan.
- The cheese sauce will now cling to the pasta thanks to the starch in the cooking water (the flour from the pasta comes out in the water). Add a bit more cooking water if it doesn't cling well to the pasta.
- If you are not comfortable with this method, you can drain the pasta in a colander. Just make sure to place a coffee mug/bowl underneath to save some of the cooking water for the sauce.
- If you don't have a sauté pan, you can simply strain most of the water from the pot with the pasta and add the butter/Parmesan.
- Serve immediately with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan and optionally lots of freshly ground pepper on top.
- Enjoy your meal.
Notes
