Fettuccine Alfredo is a pasta dish made with butter, cream, and cheese sauce. It can be served alone or mixed with vegetables, poultry, or seafood. Freshly made fettuccine is preferred, and Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is commonly used. The origins of the dish trace back to Alfredo Di Lelio, who invented it for his wife in Rome in the 1920s.
Fettuccine Alfredo is a popular pasta dish made with fettuccine, a thick flat egg noodle, topped with a sauce made from butter, cream, and cheese. Numerous recipes call for the addition of an egg to increase the viscosity and richness of the sauce. Some recipes are made lighter by replacing the cream with milk and using starch instead of cheese to thicken the sauce. Fettuccine Alfredo can be served alone or mixed with vegetables, poultry or seafood.
Some cooks find that only freshly made fettuccine is appropriate for this dish since fresh pasta absorbs the flavors of the dish more readily than dried pasta. Others say the dish’s sauce is the star and works well with both types of pasta. In both cases, high quality semolina pasta is generally preferred. Only cooking pasta al dente, meaning the noodle should slightly resist a bite, is commonly recommended.
Another point on which some cooks differ is the type of cheese that is used. Those who insist on sticking to the first recipe instructions use only freshly grated Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano. Others argue that Romano or Asiago cheese works equally well.
The construction and treatment of the sauce is another questionable factor. Some recipes call for making the sauce in a separate pan and tossing it with the cooked pasta before serving. Other recipes recommend placing the hot, cooked pasta in a large dish and then adding the other ingredients. Both methods, when done correctly, should produce a rich, smooth sauce that clings to each individual noodle.
In most recipes for fettuccine alfredo sauce, the butter is gently melted over low heat and then the cream is stirred in. The mixture is normally simmered for a minute or two to melt the butter and cream together. Grated cheese is added to the sauce at this juncture. The mixture is then stirred until the cheese melts and then poured over the noodles. Other versions suggest mixing the noodles with hot butter and cream and then tossing in the grated cheese.
The origins of fettuccine Alfredo trace back to restaurant owner Alfredo Di Lelio, who supposedly invented the dish for his wife in Rome, in the 1920s. He was reportedly desperate to get his wife to eat after she went through the labors of childbirth and claimed her fatigue had robbed her of her appetite. Her appetite returned after being introduced to her husband’s pasta, butter, cream and cheese concoction. Soon after, Di Lelio put the dish on his restaurant menu. His family still owns and operates three Italian restaurants in Italy and the United States that serve thousands of servings of fettuccine alfredo every day.
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