Posts Tagged ‘pasta’

Fettuccicne Alfredo

August 25th, 2013

fettuccine-alfredo_largeMost pastas are good for people with swallowing disorders, particularly if they’re cooked to be a bit soft, rather than al dente, which is the Italian way. It’s tricky, however, to cook them soft enough without having them fall apart  and be mushy. Pasta cooks from the outside in, absorbing liquid as it cooks. We want to make sure that more water does penetrate to the center, but not so much that it becomes mushy. Wider pastas seem to work better for getting the texture we need, but the cook here is going to have to experiment to see just how long to cook each type because there’s variation among types of pastas and manufacturers. But in general, follow the directions on the package and cook 2 minutes longer than recommended.

To test the pasta first, bring a big pot of water to boil, drop 5 or 6 fettuccine noodles into the boiling water and fish one out at about 6 minutes, run it under cold water, and see how it taste and behaves. Then fish out another noodle at 7 minutes, and so forth until you can judge just how long you want to cook it to get a noodle that holds together and is soft enough. Remember, though, that the noodle will soften as it’s mixed with the sauce.

Alfredo Sauce

  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • salt
  • 2/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 or 2 slices of garlic
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Melt butter over medium low heat in a saucepan that can later accommodate the cooked fettuccine. Add cream and all the butter and simmer for 1 to 3 minutes, until the butter and cream have thickened,  then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and mix with the cooked fettuccine noodles into the dish. Serve.

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