1/2 c butter (1 stick)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T red pepper flakes
8 oz cream cheese
1 c milk, divided
6 oz grated parmesan cheese
10 oz fresh baby spinach
chopped basil
In large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown.
Add pepper flakes and cream cheese. Whisk until combined. Don't worry if your cream cheese won't incorporate, just keep whisking until it's melted.
Add milk and whisk until smooth. Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Add spinach, cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 3 minutes, remove cover and stir until spinach is wilted.
Serve over asiago ravioli or fettucini, garnish with additional shaved parmesan and basil. Serves 6.
Chef's Note: You could use pre-grated parmesan cheese for this dish, but I wouldn't recommend it. The anti-caking ingredients contained in canisters of cheese affect the melting capability and ultimately affect the taste of the dish. Use a fine box grater or micro-plane (my favorite) and grate your own cheese. It's worth the extra effort.
I typically don't care for tomato sauce (or anything tomato for that matter, but I'm working on it...) so when S. says he'd like spaghetti for dinner I'm always a little bummed, because I don't care for the sauce. Then I had a mini-epiphany a couple weeks ago... why not make a little pot of alfredo sauce for myself? Yay! Success! Although your cheese discussion would explain why my sauce just wasn't quite right... And I love spinach! So I'm definitely going to make your recipe the next time it's "spaghetti night" at our house!
ReplyDeleteGlad I could help. :)
ReplyDeleteYou may want to cut back on the red pepper flakes or just add them at the end to your preference, if you want. Most recipes I found called for black pepper, but I really liked the taste of the alfredo dish I had in Prescott for my birthday. This was my attempt to replicate it and I came pretty close.
Yeah, I thought of that when I read it... I'm a wussy when it comes to hot stuff!
ReplyDeleteWhen I made this sauce today, I put half in a jar before adding the spinach to serve later. I only had half the spinach needed to make it and didn't think the kids would eat it with the spinach anyway.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think fresh spinach reheats well in pasta dishes. I would recommend making the sauce according to the recipe but remove all but one serving before adding 2 oz of fresh spinach (that's about 2 cups worth). Then add spinach when reheating for each serving.
Buon Appetito!
Awesome! Thanks for the extra guidance! :)
ReplyDelete