My Favourite Sauce, or, Why I Need A Kitchen Garden

Tonight, I made my favourite sauce. It's the ultimate in uncomplicated decadence: Alfredo. A classic and nearly impossible to get wrong, it nevertheless took me a few years to find the recipe that I prefer. It is the antithesis of low-calorie, and that's exactly how I like it. None of those healthier versions ever really did it for me.

Here's the recipe:

Alfredo Sauce

- 1/4 c. butter
- 1 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 tsp. pepper

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium low heat.

Melting the butter.

2. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, until cheese is melted.

Whisking in the cream. I usually use 18% - so, basically, table/coffee cream.

Adding the garlic and Parmesan.

3. Stir in parsley and pepper and serve.

I like to use freshly-ground pepper from the Simple Organics Peppercorn Blend mill.

Chopping the garlic.

Notes: I always use three cloves of garlic instead of just the one. My partner adores garlic and so do I, but even with the three cloves the garlic isn't overwhelming. Additionally, I use a whisk for every step, and I find it ensures a much velvetier sauce than using a spoon at all. I always try and whisk the sauce for a minute or so off the heat after it's done, too, so that it can thicken nicely before I pour it over pasta.

This is the final product. Notice anything missing?

Hint: There's nothing green.

That's right, no damn parsley. Why? Because I didn't have any. This happens to me with ridiculous frequency - I go to make something quick for dinner, and I realise that either a) I haven't got the herbs at all or b) it's been a week since I used them, so they're too wilted to be much good.

Which is why I'm finally making myself a kitchen garden. I have suffered needlessly for far too long.