Alfredo Sauce (With Fettuccine) for July SRC!

When V and I had gone to Ogden, Utah, for a week, we ate at this restaurant called Jasoh. I don’t remember now what V ordered, but I had ordered this alfredo fettuccine served with mushrooms and duck, topped with a chocolate gastrique. It was sooooooo good!

A gastrique is a reduction of vinegar and sugar brought to light caramelization, to which a little stock is added. It is a base to which many other ingredients, or just a few, can be added to form a sauce. It is generally used to create a sweet and sour sauce.

This was the first time I had eaten something savory that had chocolate in it and was really happy to have been adventurous enough to try it! I really wanted to try cooking the chocolate gastrique on fettuccine alfredo, but never got around to doing it.

So, when I was given “From Apples to Zucchini” for my this month’s SRC assignment, I was glad to know Pam had a recipe for Alfredo sauce. I had to give Pam’s recipe a try!

In From Apples to Zucchini, Pam focuses on recipes that feed her family responsibly, with as much nutrition as possible.  She takes great pride in remaking recipes to be healthier, lower in fat and calories than the original, just to prove that healthy doesn’t mean boring and tasteless. The discovery of this site couldn’t come at a better time- I have resolved that this time I am going to take my weight loss program seriously and I have a feeling Pam will be of great help!

Her version of the alfredo sauce is considerably less in fat than the actual version and still tastes great. Its an easy recipe and V and I enjoyed eating it. I also made the chocolate gastrique to go with it but was not as successful- of course, with some tweaks I made it good enough but not like how I had it at Jasoh. And since there were so many afterthought additions, there is no recipe that I can write here today.

Although the gastrique recipe is still a work in progress, Pam’s alfredo sauce recipe is a keeper! Its an easy recipe and as Pam points out its really light in calories as well!

Alfredo Sauce

adapted from Apples to Zucchini

I followed Pam’s recipe to the T. The only variation I made tot he recipe was to drizzle the pasta dish with a chocolate gastrique on top.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp light butter spread, divided – I used I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter Light!
• 3 oz grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 c. fat free half and half
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add half-and-half, cheese, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Reduce heat; add pasta, tossing gently to coat.
4. Add additional butter and toss to melt and to create more creaminess.

To check out other SRC members’ assignments click below!