Chef Graziella
Agnolotti del Plin
The pinched pasta of Piedmont, each tiny parcel sealed with thumb and forefinger, filled with braised meat that has surrendered to hours of slow cooking. Butter or broth. Nothing more.
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Fettuccine al Burro
Created by
Three ingredients. No cream. The original Roman fettuccine that Americans call Alfredo, stripped of its corruptions and returned to its silken, buttery truth.
Main Dishes
Italian, Roman
Weeknight
Comfort Food
10 min
Active Time
5 min cook•15 min total
Yield4 servings
Americans have been making Alfredo wrong for nearly a century. Cream has no place in this dish. Never did. The original, created in a Roman restaurant, contained exactly three things: fresh fettuccine, the finest butter, and young Parmigiano-Reggiano. The magic happens in the tossing, when heat, starch, fat, and protein form an emulsion that coats each strand in silk.
I have watched people add cream, garlic, chicken, broccoli, shrimp. They call it Alfredo. It is not. What Alfredo di Lelio made for his pregnant wife was an act of love expressed through restraint. He understood that when your butter is exceptional and your cheese is properly aged, you do not need to add anything. You need to get out of the way.
This dish requires technique, not complicated ingredients. The butter must be room temperature. The pasta water must be starchy. The tossing must be vigorous and continuous. Simple does not mean easy. But when you execute it properly, you will understand why this combination conquered Rome and then the world.
Alfredo di Lelio created this dish in 1914 at his Rome restaurant to restore his wife's appetite during a difficult pregnancy. Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford discovered it on their honeymoon in 1927 and brought the recipe to Hollywood, where American cooks immediately began adding cream, destroying everything that made it remarkable. The original survives in Rome. The corruption survives everywhere else.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh fettuccine
Quantity
1 pound
unsalted butter
Quantity
8 ounces (2 sticks)
at room temperature, cut into tablespoon pieces
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Quantity
6 ounces (about 2 cups)
finely grated
kosher salt
Quantity
for pasta water
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh fettuccine | 1 pound |
| unsalted butterat room temperature, cut into tablespoon pieces | 8 ounces (2 sticks) |
| Parmigiano-Reggianofinely grated | 6 ounces (about 2 cups) |
| kosher salt | for pasta water |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Large pot for boiling pasta
- •Large, wide serving bowl (ceramic or stainless steel)
- •Two forks or long-handled tongs
- •Fine grater (Microplane) for cheese
Instructions
- 1
Prepare your mise en place
Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil. Salt it generously. While the water heats, cut the room-temperature butter into tablespoon pieces and grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano finely. Have everything ready beside the stove. This dish moves quickly once it begins. There is no time to search for ingredients.
The butter must be at room temperature, soft enough to yield when pressed but not melting. Cold butter will not emulsify. Melted butter will make the sauce greasy. This is not negotiable. - 2
Warm the serving bowl
Place a large, wide serving bowl in a warm oven or fill it with hot water. The bowl must be warm when you toss the pasta. A cold bowl will shock the butter and break the emulsion you are about to create.
- 3
Cook the fettuccine
Drop the fresh fettuccine into the boiling water and stir immediately to prevent sticking. Fresh pasta cooks in two to three minutes. Begin testing after 90 seconds. The pasta should be tender but retain pleasant resistance. Before draining, reserve two cups of the starchy pasta water. You will need it.
- 4
Build the emulsion
Empty the hot water from your serving bowl and dry it quickly. Add half the butter pieces to the warm bowl. Drain the pasta, shaking briefly to remove excess water but leaving it slightly wet. Transfer the pasta immediately to the bowl while it is still steaming hot. The heat of the pasta begins melting the butter on contact.
- 5
Toss vigorously
Using two forks or tongs, toss the pasta with the butter, lifting the strands high and letting them fall. Add the remaining butter in pieces, tossing constantly. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano in three additions, tossing between each. Add splashes of pasta water as needed. The sauce should become creamy, silky, and coat each strand without pooling at the bottom.
The tossing creates the sauce. The starch in the pasta water, the fat in the butter, and the protein in the cheese form an emulsion when agitated together while hot. This is not magic. It is physics. But it requires vigor and attention. - 6
Serve immediately
Once the pasta is sauced, serve it promptly, inviting your guests and family to put off talking and start eating. This sauce waits for no one. Within minutes, it begins to tighten and lose its silky quality. Finish with freshly ground black pepper at the table. Pass additional Parmigiano for those who want it.
Chef Tips
- •Seek out Parmigiano-Reggiano aged 18 to 24 months, not longer. Younger cheese melts more smoothly and creates a silkier sauce. The intensely aged wedges prized for eating are too dry and grainy for this purpose.
- •European-style butter with higher fat content produces superior results. Look for 82% to 84% butterfat on the label. American butter at 80% fat contains more water, which can make the sauce greasy rather than creamy.
- •If your emulsion breaks and becomes greasy, add a splash of cold pasta water and toss vigorously off heat. The temperature shock can sometimes rescue a broken sauce. Sometimes.
- •Fresh pasta is not optional here. Dried fettuccine lacks the surface starch and tender texture that make this dish work. Make your own or buy it fresh from a reputable source.
Advance Preparation
- •The only advance preparation is ensuring your butter reaches room temperature, which takes about one hour on the counter.
- •Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano up to one hour ahead. Do not grate it the day before; it dries out.
- •This sauce cannot be made ahead or reheated. It exists only in the moment of serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 280g)
Calories
900 calories
Total Fat
60 g
Saturated Fat
37 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
22 g
Cholesterol
160 mg
Sodium
850 mg
Total Carbohydrates
63 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
27 g
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