It’s amazing what people will passionately debate about online.
Recently, I watched a video that started with two Italians explaining that they were going to show people how to make real alfredo sauce. The rest of the video was another creator trying out the dish, and from his reaction, I knew I had to give it a shot.
Of course, before that, I read some of the comments, and people were up in arms about whether or not fettuccine alfredo is really Italian or is an American invention.
I had to do some research, and I found an article by Francesco Dama entitled “Italian or American? The truth about fettuccine alfredo” that claims that the Italians created the dish and some American actors in the 1920s helped make it famous.
After reading the article, it was clear that the ingredients used for this particular recipe were, indeed, the ones used by the dish’s creator, aptly named Alfredo.
The recipe I tried comes from content creator Corey Bonalewicz. You can find his videos on Instagram @iamcoreyb. His website is coreyb.com. I added salt and pepper to my version and added the amounts for the ingredients.
Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fettuccine or linguine noodles
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook your noodles according to package instructions. When they’re done, be sure to reserve a couple cups of pasta water.
- While the noodles cook, spread the butter onto the bottom of a large serving bowl and grate your cheese.
- When the noodles are done, put the hot, drained noodles into the serving bowl and mix until the butter is melted and evenly distributed onto the noodles. Next, stir in the cheese. Add about one-quarter cup of the hot pasta water and stir.
- Add more water, a little at a time, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is the consistency you want.
- Serve immediately.
I made the rookie mistake of buying pre-shredded parmesan for this, and it was disastrously difficult to get it to smoothly melt into the sauce. It was still good, but I will definitely make this again with cheese I grate myself. If you’re not aware, pre-shredded cheese normally has an additive to keep it from clumping, which makes it tough to melt smoothly.
That being said, the flavor was on point for this, and I really enjoyed it. To make it a full meal, I sauteed some onions, bell peppers and spicy rope sausage to serve over the pasta, and it was great.
And whether you think fettuccine alfredo is a true Italian dish or something Americans came up with, it’s still delicious, and that’s really all that matters.
This piece first appeared in print on March 21, 2024.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.