ROASTED GARLIC ALFREDO PASTA

INGREDIENTS

340g fettuccine or any other pasta of your choice

1 medium-size onion

1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

500g boneless chicken

ALFREDO SAUCE

1-2 pods of garlic

1 cup Parmesan (finely grated, plus more for serving)

¼ cup butter salt

2 cups pasta water (reserved)

RECIPE

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until it is al dente. Drain the pasta but reserve two cups of pasta water.

To roast the garlic pods, add a few drops of oil to each pod and pop them in an oven for about 15 minutes at 180ºC or until you begin to see charred bits. Simply remove each pod from the garlic peels by squeezing at the tip of each clove. Smash the roasted garlic cloves and keep these aside.

Cube the butter and grate the Parmesan cheese – and keep them at the ready.

Prepare the sauce by pouring a cup of the pasta water into a large heavy bottomed pan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Using a whisk, add the butter a cube at a time and whisk until all of it has melted. Continue to whisk and gradually add the cheese while making sure each addition is completely melted before incorporating more. Then add the roasted garlic paste to the mix.

At this point, you can toss the pasta in the sauce and add more of the pasta water as needed – so that the pasta is completely covered by the sauce. Serve it dressed with black pepper and grated Parmesan cheese. If you wish to make the dish more wholesome, sauté the mushrooms with the onion in some oil while the pasta is boiling. Add the sautéed mushrooms to the sauce along with the pasta.

It’s also possible to add chicken or other protein such as shrimp into the sauce along with the mushrooms if needed. Simply marinate the boneless chicken with a marinade of your choice.

Grill and cut it into strips that can be added to the sauce or serve whole over the pasta.