Fettuccine Alfredo
 Fettuccine Alfredo served with chicken and caesar salad. | |
| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Rome |
| Created by | Alfredo di Lelio |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Fettuccine Parmesan cheese butter |
| Variations | Broccoli, parsley, garlic, chicken, shrimp |
Fettuccine Alfredo is a pasta dish made from fettuccine pasta tossed with Parmesan cheese and butter.
This is an old and simple recipe, in Italy it is simply called Fettuccine al burro (English: Pasta with butter). The Italian restaurateur Alfredo Di Lelio doubled the amount of butter used. Alfredo invented his recipe in 1908 in the “trattoria” run by his mother Angelina in Rome, Piazza Rosa.[1] This made it easier for his pregnant wife Ines to eat. He then in 1914 started selling his variation at his restaurant Alfredo" in via della scrofa in Rome. [2] Alfredo Di Lelio's family since 1950 continue to serve the fettuccine Alfredo in the restaurant "Il Vero Alfredo" in Piazza Augusto Imperatore in Rome.[3]
Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks ate in 1927 at Alfredo alla Scrofa on their honeymoon, and this helped make the restaurant, and Fettuccine alfredo, popular with tourists.
American version
[change | change source]In U.S. cuisine, cream is used as a sauce base. it may be mixed with other ingredients such as broccoli, parsley, garlic, shrimp, or chicken. Fettuccine Alfredo has now become ubiquitous in Italian-style restaurants in the United States and internationally, although in Italy this dish is not popular at all, as wrongly believed, and it is better known if called "Fettuccine al burro" instead of "Fettuccine Alfredo".
History
[change | change source]Fettuccine Alfredo is named for Alfredo di Lelio, an Italian restaurant owner. He ran a restaurant in Rome in the first half of the 20th century.
In 1914, his wife, who was pregnant, was having difficulty eating so he adapted a meal of pasta and butter, pasta al burro, for her. Later, he put the dish on the menu at his restaurant, the Alfredo alla Scrofa, and called his version Fettuccine Alfredo. Hollywood celebrities Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks visited his restaurant on their honeymoon and eat the dish. When they returned home, they talked often about the dish. This caused the restaurant and the dish to become popular with American tourists.
In 1943, Di Lelio sold the restaurant but kept the right to the name and menu. In 1950, Alfredo Di Lelio reopened a new restaurant "Il Vero Alfredo" in Rome, Piazza Augusto Imperatore 30. He worked there until his death in 1959. "Il Vero Alfredo" is now managed by his nephews Alfredo and Ines, with the famous “gold cutlery”” (fork and spoon gold) donated in 1927 by two well-known American actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (in gratitude for the hospitality).
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Le memorie di Alfredo il vero re della fettuccine, 1961 copyright di R. Morbelli e G. Mannozzi, editore Romanagraf
- ↑ Waverly Root, The Food of Italy, Random House, 1971, p. 86. ISBN 0-394-72429-1
- ↑ Le memorie di Alfredo il vero re della fettuccine, 1961 copyright di R. Morbelli e G. Mannozzi, editore Romanagraf
- Ron James (May 7, 2009). "Culinary Legends: Alfredo Di Lelio". Yahoo! voices. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2013.