A blend of butter, cream and Parmesan cheese at its simplest, creamy Alfredo sauce complements pasta, spring vegetables, chicken and seafood. The dish known as fettuccine Alfredo features long fettuccine noodles tossed with Alfredo sauce, and to this, other ingredients are often added, including herbs, meat and vegetables. Although available frozen, in packaged mixes or at Italian restaurants, creamy Alfredo sauce can easily be made from scratch at home.
History
Creamy Alfredo sauce has its origins in the history of fettuccine Alfredo. The story goes that Alfredo di Lelio, an Italian restaurateur, invented fettuccine Alfredo to whet the waning appetite of his wife. When Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks fell in love with the pasta dish in Rome in the late 1920s, they brought the recipe home, and from there it spread in popularity in America. Americans added cream to the butter and Parmesan mixture, and thus was born fettuccine Alfredo, American style.
Types
Creamy Alfredo sauce can be served with pasta and vegetables as a vegetarian dish; with chicken, shrimp or bacon; or in any creative combination the cook and diners deem desirable. Any kind of creamy sauce flavored with Parmesan cheese might be termed Alfredo sauce by some, yet authentic creamy Alfredo sauce is not made as many other cream sauces, with milk added to a roux of flour and butter.
Features
Creamy Alfredo sauce is a simple sauce made by melting butter with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, also known in the U.S. as Parmesan cheese, and then adding cream. Creative cooks may add other ingredients, such as cracked pepper, salt, fresh or dried parsley, garlic, Romano cheese and even other hard cheeses. The sauce is then tossed with cooked pasta and vegetables or meat, such as cooked chicken or shrimp. Vegetables that go well with creamy Alfredo sauce include snow peas, broccoli, green beans, sweet red bell pepper and mushrooms. The addition of toasted nuts at the end can add a desirable crunch.
Considerations
Although incredibly simple to make, creamy Alfredo sauce is considered somewhat gourmet and only for special occasions or for going out to restaurants in many households. This may be because of the richness of the sauce. However, adding vegetables to the creamy Alfredo sauce can make it almost as light as a primavera sauce, if the sauce is used sparingly. With good-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, flavorful European-style cultured butter and full heavy cream, a little goes a long way.
Benefits
Cooks can make creamy Alfredo sauce very quickly and with a minimum of ingredients. Whether doing formal entertaining or whipping up a quick and easy dish for children, cooks can satisfy a variety of diners and guests who don't realize how easy the sauce is to make.
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