Alfredo – A Simple and Comforting Mid-Week Meal
Welcome to the eleventh instalment of my series where I test out recipes from an obscure 1990s Italian cookbook. This time, I tested another dish from the ‘Sauces for Pasta’ section: Alfredo:
This is by far the easiest and quickest recipe I’ve tried from the book so far and it’s also a dish I’m very familiar with. I was an extremely picky eater when I was younger, and Alfredo was one of the few meals I could tolerate; although, my ten year old self wouldn’t have even entertained the addition of parsley in this dish – yes my taste buds have come a very long way, thank lord!
Still, it’s hard not to enjoy the simple pleasure that is the combination of butter and cheese, and I enjoyed the element of nostalgia that this dish brought back. Alfredo, therefore, is a complete comfort dish and a perfect mid-week option if you don’t have much energy to go all out.
Adjustments
- I omitted the cream, firstly because I’m not a lover of using it unless absolutely necessary, and secondly; it’s not really supposed to be in this dish and I’d really rather not have my Italian ancestors haunting me from beyond the grave.
- Since we’re missing out on the cream, I added pasta water as an alternative, since the starch released from the pasta binds with the butter and parmesan to create a lovely sauce. One might even say that it’s healthy now…?
FINAL RECIPE RATING: 9/10
I can’t find any real flaws with the recipe – my only mark down would be because I omitted the cream, but that’s really just my own personal preference.
Give my revised recipe a go for a quick and easy weeknight dish:
Alfredo
Ingredients
- 500 g tagliatelle or fettuccine fresh or dried both work well
- 90 g salted butter
- 90 g parmesan cheese finely grated
- A handful of parsley finely chopped
- Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Once it reaches a rolling boil, add the tagliatelle and cook according to the package directions [see note]
- Once the tagliatelle is al dente, reserve a small cup of pasta water and drain the rest [see note]
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat before adding the parmesan and a splash of pasta water. Stir well until you have a shiny, creamy sauce.
- Add the drained tagliatelle, parsley, and some salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently with a pair of tongs to incorporate the sauce and drizzle in some more pasta water to loosen further, if necessary [see notes]
- Serve with some extra parsley, parmesan, and some black pepper – buon appetito!
Notes
- I always find it’s best to cook pasta according to the directions of the brand you’re using.
- Take one strand of pasta out of the pot and bite into it. The texture should still be firm but not hard or chalky – the term for this is ‘al dente’. Whatever you do, don’t overcook the pasta – it will turn soggy as it continues to cook in the sauce. My rule of thumb is that it’s always better to have it slightly undercooked rather than overcooked, but having it al dente is the ultimate goal.
- Depending on your hob temperature, timings might vary, but as long as the pasta and the sauce aren’t overcooked, this dish is essentially fail-safe.
- Be careful not to add too much pasta water – you want the sauce to be nice and glossy, not watery
- I’ve recommended parsley but fresh basil would also be a great option.
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