Fettuccini Alfredo – Spoil your taste buds

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Another dish you can’t really get in Germany: Fettuccini Alfredo. Alfredo sauce strikes me as one of these quintessentially Italian-American dishes. Though granted, it is actually Italian and known there as fettuccini al burro, which means “with butter”, as I learnt yesterday. I hadn’t even heard of it until a visit to the United States in 2012 with my partner, where I was able to try it.

As with everything that is largely only in one country, but not the one where you live, you face two choices: import it or make your own. The latter is my personal preference, as you can tweak it until it perfectly matches your taste preferences. No store-bought product can compete with that. So today, I will share with you my take on Fettuccini Alfredo. The recipe serves two hungry people and should only take approximately 15 minutes to prepare. For a “skinnylicious” version, skip to the last paragraph.

Ingredients

  • 7 ounces (200 grams) of fettuccini noodles
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1 cup of cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup of whole milk
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2/3 cup of grated parmesan
  • ¼ cup of veggie or chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • A few fresh basil leaves
  • A bit of thyme and oregano
  • Ground pepper
  • Optional: meat, such as some roasted or grilled chicken

Heat the butter in a saucepan at medium heat. Then add chopped garlic and immediately afterwards the cream cheese and milk. Wisk the ingredients until smoothly blended. Mix in the parmesan, the broth (I prefer veggie broth, but if you do the dish with chicken, you might as well use chicken broth to enhance the taste) and the lemon juice. Let everything simmer for 4-5 minutes. Boil the noodles in parallel and add then them to your sauce. Cook everything for another 1-2 minutes. Then add the spices. For your protein fix, add meat (roast chicken works pretty well).

Now, I know most Alfredo sauce recipes use parsley. I generally don’t, because I don’t like parsley. I therefore substitute it with fresh basil, a bit of thyme and oregano, but use whichever floats your boat. Last but not least: enjoy your meal.

How to make it skinny: Granted, Alfredo sauce and skinny do not really seem like they would fit. However, if you want to make this dish a little healthier, you can replace the butter with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the heavy cream with ½ cup of low-fat milk without compromising too much on taste.