LOW-CAL FETTUCCINE ALFREDO

Do you know how it is when you get something in your head and can't get it out? It can be a song (I haven't stopped singing/humming Born This Way since the CD came out) or a craving for a food. When Kim of Stirring the Pot mentioned garlic-crumbed broccoli the other day, I kept thinking of dishes that might benefit from that tasty combination. Then I remembered a recipe I'd clipped from Food Network Magazine for a lighter version of fettuccine alfredo and my search ended.

While I followed the recipe exactly, the directions got my English teacher up. I rewrote them based on what I learned from making the sauce and will make the dish again my way. If you wish to top your pasta with the bread-crumbed broccoli, I've added that recipe at the end. It would make a great side dish on its own.

Serves 2 - 4
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1 cup 2% milk
Kosher salt
2 tbs Neufchatel cheese (or low fat cream cheese)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbs chopped parsley
12 oz fresh fettuccine
freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Make the sauce:  melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook about 1 minute. Add in the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, 3/4 tsp salt, and cook, whisking constantly, until just thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the Neufchatel and Parmesan cheese and whisk until just melted, about 1 minute. Set aside while you add the fresh pasta. Cook the pasta 2-3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and return to the pot.

Set the sauce over low heat while you add the reserved water, a little at a time, stirring constantly. When it reaches the desired consistency, add to the drained pasta, sprinkle with parsley, and toss gently to combine. Serve at once.

N.I.:  490 cal, 15g fat, 48mg cholesterol, 734mg sodium, 66g carb, 3g protein, 20g protein

Garlic-crumbed Broccoli
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
2 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

Steam the broccoli. While broccoli steams, heat oil in a non-stick skillet until hot (ripple stage). Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes, making sure not to brown it. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes more, until just browned.
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TASTE NOTES
This is not the first lightened fettuccine alfredo I've posted on The Food of Love, but this sauce is, by far, the most abundant and the creamiest. The recipe as written called for adding the pasta water AFTER you put the sauce on the pasta, but this made it extremely difficult to thin the sauce without demolishing the pasta. I will caution that you must eat this as soon as it's made as the sauce tends to "seize" or harden up rather quickly. That said, for a lightened version the sauce is unctuous and plentiful. I think the addition of the garlic-crumbed broccoli made this special.