Taste and Believe… Mushroom & Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo (REDUCED FAT)

You must be thinking, “NO WAY”?  Oh.. YES WAY!  You have to taste this recipe to believe it.  Fettuccine Alfredo is one of those classic Italian dishes we all love, but are too darn scared to order because of the fat content, am I right, or am I right?  I can honestly say the last time I ordered this dish was probably back in 2004… I kid you not!  It was at Marinella Restaurant, a romantic and cozy little Italian restaurant in the West Village, New York City, where else?  This dish was absolute perfection (the nyc version), the mushrooms cooked in a cream sauce mixed in with Chicken and Fettuccine… I’m salivating. 

My objective was to make something similar without compromising taste and texture too much, and cutting down all that fat and calories. 

How did I do it? 

1. Most recipes of Fettuccine Alfredo consist of 8 tablespoons of butter (that’s 1 stick), my version uses 2 tablespoons.  Hey, I can’t cut out all the fat.

2. Most recipes of Fettuccine Alfredo use cream, mine uses 1% milk and I added cornstarch, this will help thicken the sauce to achieve the right texture.

3. I didn’t mess with the cheese, I used about 1.5 cups of Parmesan Cheese… this is a rich dish after all, however cheese provides a lot of nutritional benefit, so indulge a little.

That’s it!  So simple.

My Tasters:
I have been meaning to make this dish for a while and I decided to make it on a Sunday afternoon.  Luckily my sister (Deepa) and my oldest niece (Salena – btw… terrific swimmer), were in the area, so they decided to stop by.  It worked out perfect.  Salena decided to help herself to a second serving, she’s 14, I believe that alone speaks for how good my dish really is… you know how kids/teenagers these days are so darn picky about food and eating their veggies!  My sister tried this dish and raved about how good it was, she is the best cook I have ever known, so that should count for something, right?

Oh, and my husband didn’t like this dish… just being honest, he doesn’t care for alfredo sauce, but if I love it, it’s a keeper!  🙂

Taste it and believe it!

NUTRTION: Milk and Cheese are an excellent source of Calcium and Protein.  Mushrooms are a very good source of Vitamin B6 and Protein.  Finally, broccoli adds tons of nutrition value… Vitamin A, C, and K; Fiber and Folic Acid.

INGREDIENTS:

• Barilla Fettuccine – 1 box (unfortunately they don’t make Whole Grain)
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – 1 tsp (optional)
• Garlic – 2 cloves (chopped)
• Broccoli – 1 head (cut into florets and steamed)
• Mushrooms – 8 oz. box (sliced)
• Butter – 2 tbsp
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 tbsp (for mushrooms) + 1 tsp (for water)
• Milk 1% – 3 cups (2 cups initially; 1 cup later with cornstarch)
• Cornstarch – 2 tbsp
• Parmesan Cheese – 1.5 cups (grated)
• Black Pepper – 1/2 to 3/4 tsp
• salt to taste
• Italian Parsley – 1 handful (chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat a pot of water, while it comes to a boil, continue to step two.

2. Here is what you will need to cut up.  Chop the garlic.  Cut the broccoli into florets.  Clean and slice the mushrooms.

3. Take a pot, heat on dial #4, add 1 tbsp oil. 

4. Once heated, add the Crushed Red Pepper (I forgot), garlic and mushrooms.

5. Cook for a few minutes, or until the mushroom is slightly brown and softens.  Keep stirring to prevent the garlic from sticking.

6. Now add salt.

7. This will cook another 5 minutes, this is what you should have.  Keep stirring.

8. Set aside, because you will need the pot again.

9. Once the water comes to a boil… add salt and 1 tsp of Olive Oil.  Add fettuccine.

10. Add broccoli to a colander, place the colander above the pasta water, this will steam the broccoli. 

11. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until Al Dente.

12. Back to the same Mushroom Pot, heat on dial #3, add the butter.  Make sure it doesn’t burn.

13. Once melted, add 2 cups of milk.  Increase heat to dial #5.  Keep stirring.

14. Add salt and black pepper.

15. Now in a separate bowl, add 1 cup of milk and 2 tbsp of cornstarch.  Mix.  This will help thicken the sauce.

16. Add this to the butter & milk mixture.  Keep stirring occassionally.

17. Grate 1.5 cups of parmesan cheese.

18. Add the cheese and stir some more.

19. Once the sauce thickens, this is what you should have.  Notice bubbles forming around the corners and the whisk should be coated with sauce.  Stir occassionally.  Lower the heat to dial #2.

20. Check on the fettuccine and broccoli.  Set aside the broccoli.  Drain the fettuccine.

21. Now add the broccoli and mushroom to the sauce.  Check for salt!!!

22. See how the veggies are nicely coated.

23. Now chop the Italian Parsley. 

24. Add this to the sauce.

25. Add the fettuccine to the sauce.  Toss.

26. Serve after 15 minutes, this will allow the sauce to thicken, the pasta will absorb the sauce, everything will be well coated.  What do you think?