Written By: Shawn Krajewski
This is the second sauce I will be covering. However, rather than a red, tomato-based sauce like my previous recipe, this is a white sauce. This means it is dairy-based or a Bechamel sauce if you want to go by its mother sauce categorization. If you are interested in a tomato sauce, you can check out my previous recipe here. Now get your pots ready, and let's get to cooking.
Full Recipe:
Equipment:
Cheese Grater
Large Pot
Spatula
Measurement Device
Ingredients:
2 packs Parmesan cheese (or one large pack)
3 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups of milk
Step 1: Preparation
Before you start, you need to prepare some of the ingredients, not because there is a strict timer or because the sauce needs constant babying (which it only half does), but because it is always a good idea to prepare your ingredients before you start. That way, you are on top of things right from the beginning.
First, you want to finely grate your parmesan—meaning if you have a cheese grater, use the smallest option. You want to grate about 1 and a half cups of parmesan. Then, you should also grate the garlic after cleaning, peeling, and washing it. Once grated, make sure you keep the garlic and parmesan separate because the steps in which you add them to the sauce are widely different and at completely different times.
Next, cut up your butter. It may sound weird, but due to thermodynamics, chemistry, and energy, cutting the butter will allow it to melt more quickly. This is because when it's cut, there is more surface area allowing in energy, and heat is just how much energy something has. (You can put the rest together as this isn’t a science class.)
Step 2: Garlic, Butter, Flour
Set the pot to low heat and wait. Secondly, add the garlic and butter and stir lightly, making sure to spread the butter as well as lightly cook the garlic. Then, add all 4 tablespoons of flour into the pot and mix it with the butter and garlic. You want to create a mixture that is a slightly yellowish paste.
Step 3: Milk + Mixing
Add a half cup of milk into the pot and mix it in fully. Keep in mind that you should not add the milk all at once. If you do, the sauce will not mix properly, resulting in unfavorable effects, such as uneven mixing or being more watered down. After pouring in half a cup of milk, slowly add the remaining 1 and a half cups, one half at a time. Make sure you are taking enough time to mix the milk fully. After adding all of the milk, the sauce should resemble wet sand in consistency.
Then set the pot to medium heat and let it simmer. Remember to stir it occasionally, and it should start thickening up. You should soon see the iconic thick white look of Alfredo emerge. However, don't think that you are done just yet! At this point, it is just a basic white sauce—not Alfredo—so continue following the recipe.
Optional Step: Let Rest
If you plan to add ingredients to the Alfredo, such as pasta, chicken, broccoli, or peas, let the sauce sit for a moment as you prepare these ingredients. It is recommended to let the sauce sit for 5 minutes on no heat. That being said, turning off the heat is optional, as it is not required to make a decent Alfredo sauce. If you do let the sauce sit, make sure you put the heat back on medium before the next step.
Step 4: Cheese
Finally, add your choice of ingredients to the sauce and stir. Some ingredients you could add are pasta, meat, vegetables, or anything else you like to eat with cheese. I suggest you try apples, as the sweet and savory mix could work well. But in the end, even if you don't add anything extra to the sauce, you definitely want to add cheese. The more cheese you add, the thicker the sauce, while adding a small amount of cheese results in a thin sauce with less flavor. If you are looking for a thin sauce with a good taste, you can always add a little water, though be warned because this will dampen the flavor. After mixing the cheese into the sauce, your Alfredo sauce is ready to be enjoyed!
*One type of Alfredo I suggest is chicken broccoli Alfredo. To make this, add shredded roast chicken and chopped broccoli into the sauce at the beginning of the third step. This will result in a pretty fantastic Alfredo, especially if you use fettuccine as your noodle, which since you are eating Alfredo, you most likely are. Another alternative recipe is peas and bacon Alfredo. I find that this specific recipe tastes best with noodles that work well with meats, such as Rigatoni or other thick and tube-shaped noodles.
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