Fettuccine Alfredo
Fettuccine alfredo is a pasta dish made from fettuccine pasta tossed with parmesan cheese and butter. As the cheese melts, it emulsifies the liquids to form a smooth and rich coating on the pasta. It was named by an Italian restaurateur, at his restaurant Alfredo alla Scrofa in Rome. In American cuisine, it is often mixed with other ingredients such as parsley, cream, garlic, shrimp and chicken.
History
Pasta tossed with cheese and butter or cream has a long history both in Italy and abroad.[1]
It was popularized among American tourists in Rome by the restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio, who served it with his own name attached:
Fettuccine al burro is associated in every tourist's mind with Rome, possibly because the original Alfredo succeeded in making its serving a spectacle reminiscent of grand opera.[2]
The restaurant's story is that the dish was invented by di Lelio at his restaurant Alfredo alla Scrofa in 1914 as a variation of fettuccine al burro. When butter was added both before and after fettuccine was put in the serving bowl, the butter was known as doppio burro (double butter). Di Lelio's original contribution was to double the amount of butter in the bowl before the fettuccine would be poured in, thus a triplo burro (triple butter) effect instead of double, which he started doing for his pregnant wife, who was having difficulty keeping food down. When his wife began eating again, Alfredo added the new dish to his restaurant's menu.
A long-time customer recounted that di Lelio's restaurant became famous when Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks stopped into his restaurant and fell in love with the dish while on their honeymoon in 1927. To express their gratitude, they gave him a golden fork and spoon along with a photo of them eating in his restaurant. He proudly displayed the photo on the wall of his small restaurant. When Pickford and Fairbanks returned to Hollywood, they served his dish to their friends and associates. Word about that new meal quickly spread.[3]
Alfredo di Lelio finally retired in 1938 and sold his restaurant, photos and all, to Mario Mozzetti's grandfather. He kept the restaurant's name, menu, and everything else. That restaurant is still in business today, run by Mario Mozzetti.
When Rome prepared for a large religious celebration in 1959, some local businessmen tracked down Alfredo di Lelio and offered to build him a new restaurant. He was retired, but he agreed to show up and act as a greeter there. When the religious holiday arrived, old customers showed up and had their photos taken for the walls of the "new" restaurant located at 30 Piazza Augusto Imperatore, a few blocks north of his original location.
That expansion continued in 1977 when Alfredo II and Guido Bellanca opened a new "Alfredo's" by Rockefeller Center in New York City to serve it. The walls of that restaurant are plastered with drawings by Al Hirschfeld - including the rest rooms. Another Alfredo's opened in the Epcot at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista. As of September 2007, the Epcot branch is closed.
Fettuccine alfredo has now become ubiquitous in Italian-American restaurants in the United States.
Variations
There are many modifications to the basic fettuccine alfredo which are used to lower the cost. Less expensive cheeses, such as U.S.-made parmesan cheese, an imitation of Parmigiano-Reggiano, are often used; the cheese is sometimes mixed with flour as a thickener. Thickening can also be achieved by mixing the sauce with a small amount of Roux (flour and liquid butter or olive oil) as the liquid reaches boiling. Occasionally, other cheeses such as asiago and romano may be added to alter the flavor.
To make it a single-dish meal, chicken and vegetables are often served on top. Another variation uses egg in combination with cream, butter and cheese.
Alfredo sauce
Alfredo sauce is often sold as a convenience food in many grocery stores in the United States. Unlike the original preparation, which is thickened only by cheese, pre-prepared versions are thickened with starch.
References
- ^ See, for example, the citations in [1].
- ^ Waverly Root, The Food of Italy, Random House, 1971, p. 86. ISBN 0-394-72429-1.
- ^ Paul Hofmann, (November 1, 1981), "Fettuccine-A Dish Fit for a Duchess", New York Times, accessed 2008
External links
