Alfredo Sauce
Making rich, creamy, cheesy Alfredo sauce is so easy, you just might skip the jarred stuff in favour of homemade from now on.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 clove garlic, crushed, finely grated, or 1 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or you could use half Parmesan and half Romano*)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- ¼ chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)
Tip
*Do not use pre-grated cheese; it’s coated with a substance that inhibits smooth melting and will ruin the texture of your Alfredo sauce.
Method.
- Melt butter in a saucepan or skillet over medium low heat. If you’re flavoring the sauce with garlic, add it to the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute. Do not let it brown.
- Whisk in the cream and simmer gently for 5 minutes to cook out some of the water from the cream.
- Remove the pan from heat and add cheese a handful at a time, whisking after each addition until the cheese is melted.
- Return the pan to the heat and let the sauce simmer gently for 4 to 5 minutes more until the sauce is thickened.
- Do not let the sauce boil or else it will separate and lose its smooth texture.
- Season with salt and pepper and add a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional), because nutmeg is heavenly in cream sauce.
- If you’re cooking pasta: When your pasta is cooked al dente, drain it well (do not rinse it) and toss it in the skillet with the hot Alfredo sauce.
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
