Bottega
FETTUCINE ALFREDO
by Joan Bavaresco on 04/16/12
Mmmm. Fettuccine Alfredo. So simple, but so so good. Most of us in America know this dish in its cream-based form, with a little nutmeg sprinkled on top. But did you know that the original fettuccine Alfredo sauce didn't use cream? Just butter, Parmesan, and black pepper. Both are great, whether you make one or the other just depends on what you feel like eating.
The Alfredo in fettuccine Alfredo is Alfredo di Lelio who operated a restaurant in Rome. Legend has it that he fancied up a basic pasta with butter-and-cheese dish, to appeal to his wife, who was suffering from morning sickness. When he later served it at his restaurant, it was a hit.
Americans can thank Hollywood for our love of Alfredo sauce. In the late 1920s, movie stars Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Mary Pickford ate at di Lelio's restaurant while on honeymoon in Rome, and brought the dish back to the States. It's been here ever since. Somewhere along the way, it morphed into a creamy version; how that happened is anyone's guess.
Source: simplyrecipes.com
