MVP RECIPES: Pasta with Butter & Parmesan
I’m as surprised as anyone that this is one of the most popular recipes I have ever published. However, I totally understand. I can’t tell you the number of times we have been this close to ordering delivery food when one of us will say “forget it, let’s just have pasta-butter-Parm.” It’s cheaper, faster and healthier than delivery and honestly tastes better than anything that travelled to my house on the back of an e-scooter.
Want to feel bougie? This is the OG “Pasta Alfredo” Italians have been making for centuries. No creamy sauce required.
SERVES 2 | READY IN 15 MINUTES
250 g spaghetti (about half a box)
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
Boil a large pot of water. Salt it generously.* Cook the pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, mash the Parmesan* and butter together in a wide serving bowl. About 1 minute before the pasta is done, ladle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the hot cooking water into the serving bowl and whisk it vigorously to combine.
Use tongs to transfer the pasta directly out of the cooking water and into the serving bowl. Toss to combine well (about 30 seconds, but use your judgment) and until the sauce looks like it has been absorbed by the pasta. Serve immediately with fresh black pepper and more Parmesan.
TIPS:
*Generously salting the pasta water is critical here; without it, the whole dish is flat. I use about 1 tablespoon of salt for 4 L of water.
*Freshly grated Parmesan is critical to this dish, too. Pre-grated Parm is usually coated with a very thin film of starch (to prevent it from clumping together in the package) and that means the sauce doesn’t come together in the same way.
It’s worth mentioning (because this surprises many of my students) that a single portion of this pasta contains about 14 g of protein, so don’t shy away from this recipe out of worry that it’s not hearty enough.
