Fettucine Alfredo

Servings: 6

Summary: 

Alfredo Di Lelio, for whom the dish is named, was a Roman innkeeper. Between the 1910s and the 1950s he owned a popular restaurant named Alfredo all’Augusteo in Piazza Augusto Imperatore in the center of the city.
The original name of the dish, created in 1914, was Fettuccine al triplo burro (Fettuccine with triple butter). He served it with golden forks given to him by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Fettuccine is the traditional pasta for Alfredo and its variations because the broad noodles provide just the right platform for the rich cream and cheese.

Fresh egg pasta is greatly preferred over dried pasta for cream and cheese sauces because the sauce clings more readily to fresh pasta than it does to dried.

Ingredients:

• course salt
• 1 pound fettuccine
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 pinches nutmeg, freshly grated 
• 1 1/2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated 
• white pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Boil the pasta until al dente.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat,  bring the cream to a simmer and reduce until slightly thickened.
4. Add butter and and nutmeg and simmer until the butter has melted.
5. Lower the heat to keep the mixture just warm.
6. Drain the pasta in a colander and reserve some of the cooking water.
7. Add the cheese to the warm cream mixture and stir until he cheese has melted.
8. Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste.
9. Add the pasta to the cream mixture.
10. If the pasta mixture has become thick, thin it with some of the reserved cooking water.
11. Serve immediately in heated bowls.