Chicken Alfredo

Method

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1. Pat the cutlets dry and season both sides with the salt and pepper. Dry chicken browns; wet chicken steams.

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2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high and cook the cutlets in two batches, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deeply golden and cooked through. Set them on a board to rest.

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3. Meanwhile cook the fettuccine in well-salted water until 1 minute short of the packet time. Reserve 400 ml of the water before draining.

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4. Turn the heat under the chicken pan to medium-low, add the butter and garlic, and cook 1 minute until fragrant but not coloured, scraping the browned bits off the base.

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5. Pour in the cream and simmer 2 minutes until slightly thickened.

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6. Take the pan off the heat entirely. Add the Parmigiano in three handfuls, whisking each in completely before the next, then the nutmeg.

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7. Add the drained pasta and 150 ml of the reserved water and toss hard for a full minute. The sauce will look thin and then suddenly turn glossy and clinging — keep tossing until it does, loosening with more water if it tightens.

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8. Slice the rested chicken across the grain, fold half of it through, and pile the rest on top with the parsley and more Parmigiano.

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Chef’s Tips

• Grate the Parmigiano yourself. Pre-grated cheese is coated in anti-caking starch that turns the sauce grainy.
• Off the heat before the cheese. This one rule is the difference between a sauce and a bowl of oily strings.
• Halving the breasts horizontally is what stops the outside drying before the middle cooks.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Double cream won't whip if you swap it, but for the cooking itself, full-fat crème fraîche or a lower-fat single cream works in its place.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• A cold, unoaked Chardonnay
• Garlic bread
• A sharp green salad

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of milk, stirring — a microwave splits it.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.