“Alfredo”

We ask a lot of cauliflower, don’t we? But since the amount of dairy required for a traditional alfredo crushes my stomach, I found that this recipe makes a tidy substitution. Plus. Its stupid easy.
Chop:

1 whole cauliflower into florets

4 cloves garlic

½ diced shallot (or ¼ chopped onion)

Put into a big sauce pot and add:

1 cup milk (of any kind, just not flavoured)

2 Tbsp butter

Boil everything until the cauliflower is soft. Add:

½ cup shredded parmesan or asiago cheese

1 dallop of dijon mustard

a pinch of salt

Now, with a hand blender, whirl everything up until creamy. Taste and adjust your garlic and salt. Serve, bitches!

Traditional Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients

1 lb fresh fettuccine (dried works, but fresh is the point)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano — real Parmigiano, not the green can

1/2 cup pasta cooking water, reserved

Salt and white pepper

Preparation

Traditional Roman alfredo is three ingredients: pasta, butter, and Parmesan. That's it. No cream. No garlic. No cream cheese. If you put cream in it, you've made a different sauce — a fine sauce, but not this one.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it until it tastes like the sea. Cook the fettuccine until just al dente, about 2 to 3 minutes for fresh. Before you drain it, scoop out at least a cup of pasta water. You won't need all of it but you'll be glad you have it.

While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a wide skillet or sauté pan over the lowest heat possible. You want it melted and warm, not bubbling or browning.

Add the drained pasta directly to the pan with the butter. Toss to coat. Remove from heat entirely. Add Parmesan in two or three additions, tossing continuously between each. Add pasta water a splash at a time, tossing and swirling the pan. The heat of the pasta and the starch in the water will emulsify everything into a glossy, silky sauce that clings to every strand.

This is the part people get wrong: too much heat and the cheese seizes into clumps. Too little pasta water and it turns thick and gluey. You're looking for a sauce that flows just slightly when you tilt the pan. Keep adding water and tossing until you get there.

Season with white pepper and taste for salt — the Parmesan is already salty so you may not need much. Serve immediately in warm bowls. Alfredo waits for no one.