RECIPE: Fettuccine al Burro

As I place the finishing touches to my upcoming cookbook - a new and improved 2nd edition of Discovering Vegan Italian - I wanted to share with you my veganised version of Fettuccine al Burro.

Since releasing A Vegan Summer in Southern Italy, my mind shifted to my first cookbook Discovering Vegan Italian, a collection of veganised Italian classics. I cook from this book weekly and wanted to include a few new favourites since its first print in 2019. The new edition to be released this September will include: new adaptions of old favourites, 90% new photographs and 9 new recipes, including this one, Fettuccine al Burro.

FETTUCCINE AL BURRO

This classic Roman dish is often referred to outside of Italy as ‘Alfredo’ pasta. To veganise this decadent but simple dish, grab your favourite vegan butter and parmesan. Some vegan parmesan cheeses will melt with the heat of the pasta water, others won't - but this won't affect the taste. Turmeric adds a yolky hue for an egg style pasta. You won’t need a pasta machine for this recipe, as you can roll and cut the fettuccine by hand. For a quicker recipe, buy your favourite egg-free fettuccine.

SERVES 2 | 60 minutes + resting

INGREDIENTS

Egg Fettuccine

• 2 cups semolina flour

• large dash turmeric

• ½ teaspoon salt

Burro sauce

• 5 tablespoons vegan butter

• ½ cup vegan parmesan

• cracked black pepper

• extra parmesan to serve

METHOD

Fettuccine

1. Into a large bowl, stir together the flour, turmeric and salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in approximately ¾ cup of water, a little at a time, stirring as you go with a fork. Mix until combined and then use your hands to bring the dough together. If it's too dry, add a dash of water; too wet, sprinkle in extra flour. You want a soft but not sticky dough.
   

2. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until elastic, dusting with flour as you go. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
   

3. Divide the dough into 3-4 pieces. Dust your surface generously with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll out 1 piece into a large rectangle sheet, approximately 30cm in length and about 3mm thickness. These don’t need to be the exact measurements but a rule of thumb to guide you.
   

4. You can create the fettuccine two ways:
   

5. One way is to simply cut the sheet into long strips with a sharp knife, approximately ½ cm wide for fettuccine or 2 cm for pappardelle. The second way is to coat the sheet generously with flour and roll up like a rug. Using a knife, cut the dough into your desired thickness. Unravel each piece and transfer the pasta to a tray lined with a towel. Lay out flat or turn into pasta nests to dry. Repeat with remaining dough. Dry for approximately 30 minutes.
   

6. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook fettuccine for 4-5 minutes or until al dente. Drain but reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
   

7. Burro sauce Spoon the butter into a large bowl. Transfer the hot, drained cooked pasta into the bowl and toss to combine and melt the butter.
   

8. Sprinkle in the parmesan. Pour in the reserved pasta cooking water, a little at a time, stirring through the pasta thoroughly to create a thick creamy sauce. Add the pepper to taste.
   

9. Divide the pasta into 2 serving bowls. Garnish with extra parmesan and extra lashings of black pepper.