Recipe of the Week: Low-Cal Fettuccine Alfredo

On my first Valentine's Day with my husband, we cooked a meal together, so I suggested we do the same this year. We made Fettuccine Alfredo, breaded chicken tenders, and asparagus. The fettuccine was a low-calorie recipe, but it didn't taste slighted at all!

Low-Cal Fettuccine Alfredo
Serves 4

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup low-fat (2%) milk
Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons Neufchatel or low-fat cream cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 ounces fresh fettuccine
Freshly ground pepper

1. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook until the garlic is slightly soft, about 1 minute. Add in the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly, until just thickened, about 3 minutes. Add Neufchatel and parmesan cheese; whisk until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in chopped parsley.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and return to the pot.

3. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and gently toss to combine, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt. Divide among bowls and top with parmesan and pepper.

Per serving: Calories 490; Fat 15 g (Saturated 8 g); Cholesterol 48 mg; Sodium 734 mg; Carbohydrate 66 g; Fiber 3 g; Protein 20 g



Recipe found in the March 2011 edition of Food Network magazine.


From my experience: While I prepared the chicken and asparagus, my husband made the sauce only leaving out the lemon zest. We didn't miss the flavor, but if you would like to include this in the recipe and are also short on lemons too try using lemon pepper (I realized too late we were out!). It seemed pretty easy to make and so yummy! My husband who normally complains about eating low-fat anything loved it! It will get dry when you eat it for leftovers, so you may want to add a little milk or water to remoisten the pasta. Overall, we loved this recipe, and will definitely make it again!