Original authentic fettuccini Alfredo

The original fettuccine Alfredo (called ‘fettuccine Al Burro’ in Italy) is a pasta dish consisting of fettuccine tossed with lots of butter and Parmesan cheese. This recipe is the Italian way and quite different from the American style where you would add cream to the pasta. But with only 4 ingredients this authentic recipe is ready in only 15 minutes. If all you know is the American version of Alfredo, I strongly suggest you try this (Caution: Extremely Addictive!).

Here is your shopping list:

1. 1 lb. Fettuccini (I suggest dried pasta rather than refrigerated or frozen)

2. 1 stick salted butter

3. 1 Cup good quality grated Parmesan cheese

4. 2 Cups hot reserved pasta water

Take a large pot with water and season heavily with salt. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta. Make sure to constantly stir the pasta for the first 3-4 minutes as fettuccini tends to stick due its shape. Stirring for the first few minutes will keep this from sticking together. Then continue to stir occasionally. Cook for about 12 – 13 minutes (al dente). While the pasta is cooking, take a large frying pan and on low heat melt the butter (cut them into 8 pieces so it melts evenly without burning).

Once the pasta is cooked, remove 2 cups of the pasta water then drain the pasta (do not rinse!). Add the pasta to the frying pan with the melted butter and toss with two large forks, pasta scoop or thongs until coated. Sprinkle the cup of Parmesan cheese over the top of the pasta and start to mix together. Immediately add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and continue to toss until the butter, cheese and water make a nice light sauce. The trick to a successful dish is to keep the pasta warm while mixing. You may want to add additional water as you want to keep the Parmesan cheese from curdling. Continue to toss and add water as needed. Serve on warm plates (I kept mine next to the heat of the stove). Sprinkle with pepper and garnish with parsley.

If there are any left-overs, put in a container and pour the remaining pasta water over it and store in the refrigerator. The pasta water will help to keep it creamy when you reheat it over the stove or in the microwave.

You may wonder how Alfredo become part of the pasta name? Legend has it that a restaurant owner, Alfredo di Lelio came up with this dish around 1907 or 1908. His wife, Ines, had lost her appetite after giving birth to their first child. To make it more appetizing, he added 3 times the amount of butter than he normally would use and named it “Fettuccine al Triplo Burro.” It was after this that the name fettuccine Alfredo soon spread. Somewhere along the way in the U.S. fettuccini Alfredo transformed into a version by using heavy cream.

(I found a little Fun Fact… In the 1920s, Douglas Fairbanks & Mary Pickford dined at Alfredo’s restaurant during their honeymoon. They had this dish and asked him for the recipe. As soon as they got back to the U.S., they spread the word and Alfredo became a celebrity stop when visiting Italy. Fairbanks & Pickford sent a set of golden forks to Alfredo engraved with “To Alfredo, the King of the Noodles” along with their name and the date of July 1927. This alone should give you good reason to try this recipe!)