Alfredo keeps it simple

Favas tweak tradition in classic fettuccine dish for right now

You should always make it easy on yourself, but especially in the summer. If you have kids, these months are disjointed ones, a maze of camps that you signed them up for back in March; there may be daily lunches to pack (if not theirs, then your own). And if you don’t have kids, there are better ways to spend the long twilight hours this season delivers than chained to the stove.

Now is not the time for elaborate cooking. Now is the time for the sort of elemental cornerstone recipes you can make with one hand tied behind your back, an understocked refrigerator and 30 good minutes to devote to the task.

I turn, as I often do, to a classic that has fallen out of favor: fettuccine Alfredo. Let us right now, before we go further, address the elephant in the room. Fettuccine Alfredo does not contain cream. I repeat: no cream! But it is creamy, deliciously so, the sauce a beautiful union of starchy pasta water, butter and ParmigianoReggiano. That’s it. That, and the pasta, and, in this version, the optional addition of fresh fava beans.

Though it’s not traditional, I like fava beans in this dish, their bright green flavor punctuating the very rich pasta. Also, peeling favas beans is a lot of work, and it’s work I resent less if the rest of the recipe is a cinch. You don’t need tons of favas to make an impact here; a good cup will do the job. You can substitute peas, even frozen ones, or you can forgo the addition altogether, and serve the pasta with a salad or another vegetable.

Best of all, this is a recipe that you’ll memorize after making it once, owing to its easytoremember proportions — which means it’s one you can easily turn to again and again, all summer long.

Jessica Battilana /