Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo – Since it was Loose, You Must Reduce
I usually don't film things I'm trying for the first time. There is so much set up involved, and time invested when I do one of these video recipes, that it's just too painful to have something not work and end up with nothing to show for all the effort.
I thought this chicken fettuccine Alfredo recipe was going to fit that description. I'm putting this recipe in the cookbook, and I wanted to try one that uses chicken broth, the same one used to poach the breasts, in place of some of the heavy cream.
I was so sure I had the right proportions that I decided to film it without a test. I was wrong, or as the kids say these days…Fail (which by the way, is getting really annoying, so cut it out).
The dish tasted great; the fortified chicken broth worked perfectly as a partial cream substitute, and I also managed to not use any butter or olive oil – another goal of this recipe. The problem, as you'll see, is I simply had twice as much chicken broth as I needed.
So, in case I'm not clear in the video. You poach the breasts in 2 cups of broth, but before you continue with the recipe, boil that poaching liquid down to 1 cup and you will be in slightly-less-caloric chicken fettuccine Alfredo heaven.
Also, be sure to undercook the pasta by at least a minute, so you can allow it to absorb the sauce at the end, as it rests covered. The last piece of advice you've heard before… DO NOT attempt this recipe unless you have a nice hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. It's like the main ingredient, so that green can is not going to cut it. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 large servings:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 2 cups low sodium organic chicken broth
- 1 pound fettuccine
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 cloves garlic, very finely minced
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley (in summer toss some nice fresh basil in for a little different version)
- 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste