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Italian-American

Garlic-Parmesan Alfredo, Two Ways

Cajun chicken or blackened mushrooms over silky garlic-parmesan fettuccine

35 min active· 40 min totalBistro
Split Plates · 2 waysVegetarian plate

One pan of brown-butter garlic-parmesan Alfredo (made with a vegetarian Italian-style hard cheese so the whole table can share it), finished with lemon-parsley gremolata, then split at the table: Cajun-seared chicken thighs for the meat-eaters, blackened cremini for the vegetarians.

One dish, 2 plates

Shared base

Garlic-parmesan Alfredo · Fettuccine · Lemon-parsley gremolata

Cajun Chicken

Cajun-seared chicken thighs

Blackened Mushroom

Blackened cremini

Vegetarian

Ingredients

2 servings

For everyone

Garlic-parmesan Alfredo

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup finely grated vegetarian hard cheese
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Fettuccine

  • 7 oz dried fettuccine
  • Kosher salt for the pasta water

Lemon-parsley gremolata

  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Zest of 1/2 lemon

Cajun Chicken plate

Cajun-seared chicken thighs

  • 5 oz boneless skinless chicken thigh per person
  • 1 tsp Cajun seasoning per person
  • 1/2 tbsp neutral oil per person

Blackened Mushroom plate

Blackened cremini

  • 5 oz cremini mushrooms per person, halved
  • 1 tsp Cajun seasoning per person
  • 1/2 tbsp butter per person

Allergens

Contains: milk · wheat · gluten. May contain: celery, mustard, egg — check labels.

  • Cajun seasoning may contain celery or mustard — check the label.
  • Dried pasta may contain egg.

Method

  1. Step 1: Boil the water

    Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it until it tastes like mild seawater.

    Water to boil · 10 min hands-off

  2. Step 2: Mise en place

    Mince the garlic, finely grate the cheese, chop the parsley and zest the lemon. Mix parsley and zest: that is your gremolata.

    5 min

    Already done on Prep Day? Grab the labelled containers.

  3. Step 3: Fork point — the plates split here

    Fork point

    Season the mushrooms and the chicken on separate boards. Do the mushrooms first so nothing touches raw chicken, then wash your hands and the knife.

    2 min

    Split Plates: one sauce, two proteins.

  4. Step 4: Blacken the mushrooms

    Blackened Mushroom only

    Heat a dry skillet over high heat. Add the mushrooms cut-side down, leave them alone for 3 minutes, then add the butter and Cajun seasoning and toss for 1 minute.

    Mushrooms · 4 min

  5. Step 5: Sear the chicken

    Cajun Chicken only

    Set the mushrooms aside and wipe out the skillet (or use a second skillet if you have a spare burner). Heat the oil over medium-high. Sear the seasoned thighs 5–6 minutes per side until the thickest part reads 165 °F / 74 °C. Rest 3 minutes, then slice.

    Chicken · 12 min Cook to 165 °F / 74 °C inside

    Mushrooms always go first, so nothing vegetarian touches a pan or board used for raw chicken.

  6. Step 6: Cook the pasta

    Cook the fettuccine 1 minute short of the package time. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.

    Pasta · 10 min

  7. Step 7: Brown the butter, build the sauce

    Melt the butter in a wide saucepan over medium heat until it foams and smells nutty, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the cream; simmer 3 minutes until lightly thickened.

    Sauce · 7 min

  8. Step 8: Emulsify off the heat

    Take the pan off the heat. Add the pasta, the cheese, the pepper and a splash of pasta water; toss hard until glossy. Loosen with more water as needed.

    2 min

    Off the heat = no grainy cheese.

  9. Step 9: Plate

    Twirl into warm bowls. Top each plate with its protein — chicken or mushrooms — and finish with gremolata.

    2 min

Notes

Chef's notes

Brown the butter until it smells like toasted hazelnuts before the garlic goes in — that is the whole trick. Finish the sauce off the heat so the cheese melts instead of clumping. Buy a hard cheese labelled vegetarian: true Parmigiano-Reggiano is made with animal rennet. Three burners are enough — blacken the mushrooms first, set them aside, wipe the skillet and sear the chicken in it.

Plating

Twirl the pasta high in a warm shallow bowl, fan the sliced chicken or pile the mushrooms on one side, and scatter gremolata last for colour.

Make ahead

Grate the cheese, mince the garlic and make the gremolata up to 2 days ahead (keep the gremolata wrapped in damp paper towel).

Storage

Leftovers: refrigerate within 2 hours, eat within 3 days; reheat gently with a splash of water.

Make it yours.

Gastroque adapts dishes like this to everyone at your table — allergies, diets and all.

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