Fettuccine Alfredo with Handmade Pasta
Submitted by stevenapril
Fettuccine alfredo made the Roman way, with handmade semolina pasta tossed in butter and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. No cream. Just butter, cheese, pasta water, and minutes of tossing.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
10 minREADY
40 minThe original Roman Alfredo the way Alfredo Di Lelio served it in his trattoria back in 1908: just pasta, butter, and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. No cream, no garlic, no parsley. The American version with heavy cream sauce came later. This is the real thing, where the silky coating comes from emulsifying the cheese and butter with starchy pasta water.
The pasta itself uses a 50/50 blend of durum semolina and all-purpose flour. Semolina alone is too tough to handle; pure AP gives you a soft noodle without the right bite. The ten-minute knead is the strenuous part because semolina resists, but moistening your hands with oil makes the dough pliable. Fresh fettuccine cooks in two minutes and immediately gets tossed in a warm bowl with cold butter and cheese.
Pro Tips
- Use a Microplane or fine grater for the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Coarse grates won’t melt fast enough into the butter and pasta water.
- Warm the serving bowl. Cold bowls shock the butter and break the emulsion before it forms.
- Reserve a ladle of starchy pasta water before draining. The starch is what binds the butter and cheese into a silky coating.
- Toss aggressively for 2 full minutes. Stopping too soon leaves you with butter-coated noodles instead of a creamy sauce.
Variations
- Lighten the dish with half olive oil and half butter for a slightly less rich version.
- Crack lots of black pepper in for cacio e pepe territory (skip the butter, double the cheese, all pasta water).
- Add a thin slice of grated black truffle or a drizzle of truffle oil for a special-occasion version.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine flours in large bowl.
Mix well.
Make well in center of flour and drop in eggs, 1 tablespoon oil and salt.
Using fork, beat mixture into flour, working up to rim gradually and incorporating wet ingredients with flour thoroughly.
If too dry, add a few drops of water.
When combined, moisten hands with oil and work dough, kneading and folding about 10 minutes until smooth and pliable.
Continue kneading 5 minutes longer until dough is completely smooth.
Kneading, because of toughness of semolina flour, will be difficult, but keep going.
Keep hands moistened with oil during kneading process to help stretch dough and make it pliable.
Form into ball, cover and let stand 10 minutes to rest.
Process through pasta machine according to manufacturer’s directions or roll very thin.
Cut for fettuccine noodles.
Use at once or allow to dry and store for future use.
When ready to serve, drop fettuccine in boiling salted water and cook until fettuccine rises to surface, about 2 minutes.
Quickly drain and place in warm bowl containing half of softened butter.
Top with lumps of remaining butter and ⅓ to ½ cup cheese.
Toss lightly, using fork and spoon, about 2 minutes, until fettuccine is well coated and creamy sauce is formed.
Serve sprinkled with pepper and additional grated cheese.
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