The History of Alfredo Sauce

1914, Rome: Alfredo di Lelio had all reason on the world for being happy. Yet, he felt troublesome. His wife was pregnant, but lost her appetite and nothing could make her eat. After several tries with various dishes Alfredo almost started losing faith. It had been several days Alfredo’s wife had stop eating and her pregnant body was in a bad need of a rich meal.

He first thought of Fettuccine al burro, yet he doubled the amount of butter before adding the Pasta to the bowl. For Fettuccine al burro a second amount of Butter would be added afterwards. Thus, the original name of the dish was Fettuccine al triplo burro. The change was just a simple one, but Alfredo’s wife started eating again and he started to serve the »new« dish in his Restaurant – Alfredo all’Augusteo, located in the Piazza Augusto Imperatore; just in the very center of Rome. He even served it with golden forks.

American tourists soon started loving the dish and brought it to the US. Further changes were made and additional ingredients were added. Just like the Spanish Paella it seems more popular with foreigners than with actual locals (cf. Paella Recipe)The most popular additions are shrimp and chicken, but also, turkey, salmon or even lime are known today.
The story might be cheesy in the truest sense of the word, moreover, it is exaggerated, but at least, it carries some basic truth in it and it’s a tasty one