Around the Table - 10.17.2020

Green Fettuccine in Cream Sauce

Our family dinners embody the idea of faith -- complete trust or confidence in someone or something. We all have faith that the five of us will be able to sit down to a home-cooked meal and that our time around the table will be filled with conversations about our days at school/work, talk about current events, and recognizing accomplishments, both large and small.

A recipe that my children loved when they were young, and still ask for today, is something we call ‘pasta in cream sauce with bacon and peas’. The basic cream sauce recipe comes from a treasured and tattered cookbook called ‘Pasta and Rice Italian Style’ (co-written by a friend and colleague of my mom’s back in the day and now out of print). My addition is frozen peas and crumbled bacon, with a healthy grating of fresh parmesan cheese. We don’t make it with the fresh green fettuccine called for, just decent boxed spaghetti. Simple, but always delicious!

Green Fettuccine in Cream Sauce / Fettuccine verdi alla panna

6 tbs. butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb green fettuccine
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste

Heat the butter and the cream in a large skillet over low heat until cream has thickened. Drop the fettuccine into 4 to 5 quarts boiling salted water. When they are done, drain. Add the fettuccine to the skillet with the butter and cream. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Toss well, and taste for salt. Serve immediately in a heated dish with the remaining Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Estimated cooking time: 15 minutes Estimated total preparation time: 20 minutes, not including the pasta

Marisa Mercurio is mother of Emma, Dane and Magnus and teacher at the United Nations International School