Alfredo Sauce

Fettuccine Alfredo with Spinach

This recipe is just the foundation for SO much more. If you're talking basic fettuccine Alfredo, you can heat the cream in a large skillet and add the hot cooked pasta to coat, and then on a very low setting, drizzle the egg yolks using tongs or a spradle to toss until the eggs are blended in and cooked. Continue tossing as you add the cheese, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.

Both Carbonara and Primavera start with this Alfredo sauce, but let your imagination go wild with seafood, roasted garlic, spinach, peas, even roasted plum tomatoes.

For the photos here, I was on hat trip with limited equipment so did the sauce in a sauce pan and after draining the pasta, poured the sauce on. I also added fresh spinach just after the pasta was drained to wilt but not overcook it.

I've recently discovered dehydrated egg yolks that can easily be reconstituted and used for this recipe. That's really handy when I don't have an immediate use for the unused egg whites from this recipe above.

THE RECIPE

Alfredo Sauce after egg yolks have been added

6 egg yolks beaten

1 c heavy cream

salt / pepper to taste

1 cup grated Reggiano parmesean cheese

Heat the heavy cream in a heavy sauce pan on medium heat.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

When it's hot but not boiling, reduce heat to low and gradually whisk the yolks in. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens indicating that the eggs are cooked. If the cream is too hot or you don't whisk fast enough the yolks will cook to fast and get clumpy.

Use immediately.

Add the parmesean to whatever the sauce goes on. Makes about 2 cups which is just enough for a pound of pasta.

NOTE: If you have a skillet large enough for the amount of pasta you're cooking, you can make the sauce in that skillet and then drain the pasta while al dente and finish it with the sauce it in the skillet with added cheese until its nice and creamy. If you do it this way, reserve some pasta water in case you go a bit too far and need to thin it down a bit.

This is an Americanized version of the real thing. In Italy at Alfredo d' Roma the egg yolks are tossed into hot buttered pasta in a skillet on a burner that they bring to your table. The yolks get cooked during that process and they serve you immediately. For a pound of pasta you'd use a dozen or so yolks. I've done this with the buttered pasta in a large skillet on low for just two of us. The Americanized method is much more crowd friendly.