Oh Olive Garden, you have the lock on delicious breadsticks and endless salad. But those sodium levels... yikes! The sodium level on the fettuccini alfredo is 1200mg. We can do better, and more authentic.
Alfredo is actually incredibly simple. It's just a couple of ingredients and requires very little prep work. No cream, no eggs. I do highly recommend not using pre-shredded cheese as it is dusted with cellulose to prevent clumping. It doesn't have to be pretty.
This recipe serves 4-6 at 180mg
Ingredients
1lb fettuccini
4 oz. parmesan cheese, grated.
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
Pinch of nutmeg
Directions
In a large saucepot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add fettuccini. Stirring often, cook until al dente, about 11 minutes. Hold back 1 cup of the pasta water, and drain the rest. Return the noodles to the pan.
Add butter, parmesan, reserved water and nutmeg and vigorously stir. Now is the time to get that arm workout in and stir until everything is incorporated. It's going to be watery at this point. That's normal. Cover and let sit for about a minute.
Give the pasta a good stir to reincorporate everything and serve.