On a cold day like this, nothing quite hits the spot like a large bowl of pasta. We wanted to make a great bowl of pasta without the red sauce. A great alfredo sauce felt only right. The creaminess of the sauce and the richness of the flavor just make this a great winter dish.
One issue with many alfredo sauces, however, is that they come out far too thick and far too rich. We wanted to take a lighter hand to the sauce. It should never feel too heavy, but it should still pack that great flavor. With rich ingredients like parmesan cheese, butter, and heavy cream, it can be a real challenge to not overpower the pasta. The trick was to reduce only some of the heavy cream, reserving some unreduced cream to the side, and to use the butter and cheese very sparingly. Keep reading below for our favorite fettuccini alfredo recipe…
Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
(makes 4 servings)
Ingredients
- 6oz uncooked fettuccine
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cups Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Directions
- Bring 4 1/2 quarts water to a rolling boil, covered, in a large pot. Using a ladle or measuring cup, fill each individual serving bowl (between 4 and 6) with about 1/2 cup boiling water. Set the bowls aside to warm.
- While the water starts to boil, bring 1 cup heavy cream and the butter to simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the mixture reduces to about 2/3 cup (12 to 15 minutes). Remove the reduced cream from the heat and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper.
- In a large skillet, saute the onion and chicken in butter until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook the pasta just shy of al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Meanwhile, return the cream mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, and add the pasta, Parmesan cheese, chicken, and the nutmeg to the cream mixture. Cook over low heat, dossing the pasta and chicken with tongs to combine until the sauce coats the pasta and chicken, and the pasta has just reached al dente (1 to 2 minutes). Stir in the reserved pasta cooking water.
- Empty the serving bowls of water, divide the pasta evenly among the bowls,, tossing to make sure the pasta is coated well with the sauce. Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Recipe adapted fromTaste of Home