Fettuccine

Fettuccine («little ribbons») are long, flat pasta ribbons that De Cecco and Agnesi call the pride of Lazio's regional cooking. They are made dry from semolina alone or as egg pasta; Rummo's egg fettuccine are 8 mm wide, and Rome's best-known dish with them is fettuccine Alfredo, born in 1908. ¹⁴⁵⁸

From Lazio, under many names. De Cecco writes that the origin of fettuccine is hard to pin down because the shape is popular all over Italy under different local names, but that it probably comes from Lazio, where it is the pride of regional cooking. ¹ Agnesi says the same and adds that fettuccine are slightly wider than tagliatelle. ⁴

Egg or semolina. Italian law allows dry semolina pasta of semolina and water only, while egg pasta must contain at least four whole hen eggs, or 200 g of egg, per kilogram of semolina. ⁹ De Cecco's semolina fettuccine n° 6 cook in 11 minutes, 10 al dente, while its egg fettuccine n° 303, with 23.87% egg, take 7. ¹² Agnesi's egg fettuccine contain 28.3% egg. ⁴

How wide is a fettuccina. Rummo gives exact measures for its egg ribbons: tagliatelle 6 mm wide, fettuccine 8 mm and pappardelle 15 mm, all 1.05 mm thick. ⁶⁵⁷ Its fettuccine cook in 6 minutes, its pappardelle in 7. ⁵⁷ De Cecco also sells a green version, egg fettuccine n° 310 with tender spinach leaves in the dough. ³

The story of fettuccine Alfredo. Turismo Roma tells it this way: in 1908 Alfredo Di Lelio's wife Ines had no appetite after childbirth, so he made fettuccine with semolina to keep them light and dressed them with fresh double butter and Parmesan. ⁸ The dish went on the menu of his restaurant in Piazza Rosa, and the Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks later gave him gold cutlery engraved «To Alfredo, the king of the noodles». ⁸

The original recipe. For 4 people Turismo Roma gives 400 g of very thin fresh egg fettuccine, 160 g of softened unsalted butter, about 70 g of 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano PDO per person and cooking water to emulsify. ⁸ The pasta cooks for less than a minute and goes, undrained, straight onto the plate with the butter, then the water and cheese are mixed in to make the creamy sauce. ⁸

Other sauces and nutrition. De Cecco recommends fettuccine with tomato sauce and meat ragù, and with fish sauces, especially shellfish; Rummo suggests meat and fish dishes such as clams and mussels. ¹⁵ Agnesi's egg fettuccine give 371 kcal and 16 g of protein per 100 g. ⁴ They contain wheat and, in the egg version, egg, both allergens that EU labels must highlight. ¹¹²

Fettuccine vs linguine. De Cecco describes linguine as the Ligurian long pasta par excellence, a small, narrow flat tagliatella made for pesto, cooked in 12 minutes. ¹⁰ Fettuccine are wider ribbons from Lazio, often made with egg, and go with ragù, butter and cheese or shellfish. ¹⁵ So linguine lean towards pesto and seafood in oil, fettuccine towards richer sauces. ¹⁰⁴

Why it matters to you. For true fettuccine Alfredo, use fresh thin egg fettuccine, butter, aged Parmigiano and cooking water, with no cream. ⁸ For dry ribbons, read the pack: about 6–7 minutes for egg fettuccine, 11 for semolina ones. ⁵²¹ Check the label for wheat and egg. ¹¹