The Best Fettucine Alfredo
Yes, I know it’s a big call to declare this the best Fettucine Alfredo ever but in our household, this dish is KING. Although we call it carbonara for some reason. Anyway, it’s my brother’s recipe and it is delicious as heck. I should warn you now that this recipe is in no way authentically Italian. It’s been altered to suit our tastebuds but I mean it when I say it is delicious. The secret, as it turns out, is really good shrooms and slow cooking them for a little bit. It’s what gives it that nice texture and flavours the sauce really well.
OK I’m about to lick my screen after staring at this for too long so let’s get into it….
What you’ll need:
500 grams of bacon or pancetta (or more if you want more bacon. I’m not judging you because bacon is delicious), cut into small pieces
500 grams of mushrooms (again, or more if you’re into that. We used Portobello for this one but flat mushrooms are also good), chopped into little slices
675 ml cream
A clove of garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil and parmesan cheese to garnish with (optional)
Cooked fettucine pasta and reserve some of the pasta water to add to the sauce as needed
How to cook:
Cut the bacon into pieces, fry until cooked/crispy then transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels to soak up the oil
Heat up some butter in the same pan (if it’s too oily, get rid of some of the bacon oil)
Add the minced garlic while the butter has just slightly melted
Add the mushrooms before the garlic even browns and cook them together until mushrooms soften a bit (I cook them in medium heat)
Add half of the cooked bacon
Add the cream until it comes to a gentle boil
Add the sugar, salt, and pepper and give it a mix
Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, stir a few times so the sauce doesn’t stick to the pan
Add the cooked fettuccine pasta
Add pasta water if sauce is too thick
Toss together and serve while hot, adding half the cooked bacon on top and parmesan cheese and basil to garnish if you prefer. I usually serve it in a big bowl, family style
“The secret, as it turns out, is really good shrooms and slow cooking them for a little bit”
For our Saturday pasta night, we served this with bruschetta topped with garlic, cherry tomatoes, basil, olive oil and a side of baked Brussell sprouts with a drizzle of lemon juice and honey. I really wanted something tart to cut through the creaminess of the pasta and both the bruschetta with a lot of tomatoes and the smokey, bitter Brussell sprouts works amazing with this.
As for the wine pairing, I actually went with a nice red. Which is probably a no-no for most people, right? An Alfredo sauce would traditionally be paired with a white wine but a few years ago I learnt this handy tip from the incredible Laura Maniec MS and I haven’t looked back since.
For dessert, we had store bought Tiramisu and it was *chef’s kiss*
Bon appetite!
