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Cook time
20 minutes
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Serves
1
Author Notes
Contrary to popular belief, fettuccine Alfredo—the original from Rome, at least—isn't meant to have cream. It's just: fettuccine, butter, and cheese, all tossed together with the pasta's starchy cooking liquid to create a sauce that looks and tastes very close to heavy cream. At his restaurants in Italy, Alfredo di Lelio would do this tableside as a sort of ceremony for the guests. The ultimate ceremony of cooking and eating, as I see it. —Eric Kim
Test Kitchen Notes
Featured in: Why Fettuccine Alfredo Is the Best Solo Supper. —The Editors
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Ingredients
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4 ounces
fettuccine, preferably fresh (but dried is good, too)
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Kosher salt, to taste
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2 tablespoons
unsalted butter, divided
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1
small shallot, thinly sliced
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1/2 cup
grated Parmesan, plus more to taste
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Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
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Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water and drain pasta.
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In the same pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, then sauté the shallot for about 1 to 2 minutes, just until translucent and no longer raw. Add 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water, bring to a simmer, then stir in the butter, followed by the cheese, until both are fully incorporated.
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Add the pasta to the sauce and continue cooking, stirring constantly and incorporating more of the water as needed to coat the noodles sufficiently. (The trick here is to amalgamate the pasta, butter, cheese, and starchy water until it comes together into a creamy emulsion.)
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Plate, then finish with a final smattering of Parmesan and freshly ground pepper.
Eric Kim was the Table for One columnist at Food52. He is currently working on his first cookbook, KOREAN AMERICAN, to be published by Clarkson Potter in 2022. His favorite writers are William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway, but his hero is Nigella Lawson. You can find his bylines at The New York Times, where he works now as a writer. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @ericjoonho.
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