Easy white wine and butter pasta sauce
A quick white wine and butter pasta sauce with garlic, parmesan, and fresh parsley. It's silky, simple, and incredibly delicious.
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 200 grams dried pasta (I use spaghetti) or 300 grams fresh
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ cup white wine I use a Sauvignon Blanc
- 70 grams butter cut into four equal pieces (see notes)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon black pepper optional
- 60 grams parmesan finely grated (see notes)
- ½ cup packed flat leaf parsley very finely chopped
Instructions
- Get a pot of well salted water on to boil and cook your pasta according to instructions. If you are using fresh pasta you will cook it when the sauce is almost ready as it won't take long. (see notes)
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan (that will fit the pasta in at the end) over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so, moving it around so it doesn't brown.
- Lower the heat slightly and add the wine, it will bubble up a lot.
- Cook so it is gently simmering for about 4 mins, you are wanting to reduce it down roughly by half.
- Add the butter pieces in, one at a time, letting each piece melt and whisking well in between each addition.
- You should end up with a very yellow and slightly thickened sauce at the end. You want to time your pasta cooking so the sauce isn't sitting around too long as it can separate. Keep whisking it over a low heat if your pasta isn't ready.
- Add a ¼ cup reserved pasta water and whisk vigorously. I like to whisk and shake the pan at the same time to get a nice emulsified sauce.
- Add the salt and pepper (taste the sauce first if you are worried about it being too salty etc, it depends what butter you use)
- Add the pasta straight in and toss with the sauce using tongs.
- Turn the heat down to low and sprinkle the parmesan over the top of the pasta in an even layer.
- Leave it alone until it is melting on top, about 1 min, then toss it with tongs really quickly. Tossing over and over until you get a nice thick sauce. Check out video below to see this in action!
- Add the parsley, stir and serve!
- Top with extra parmesan if you wish (I do!)
Video
Notes
Butter - You can use either salted or unsalted butter. If you choose unsalted, make sure to season the sauce to taste as you go. (Salted butter can vary in saltiness, so just adjust the final seasoning accordingly.)
Parmesan - Parmesan can turn stringy if it isn’t grated finely enough. I blend mine into a fine crumb using a small smoothie blender. Otherwise, use a Microplane or the star side of a box grater. Avoid the regular grater side and never use pre-grated bags as the additives stop it from melting smoothly.
Parsley - Completely optional. It adds a nice fresh touch to this rich sauce, but leave it out if you prefer it plain.
Salt and pepper - I’m a big black pepper fan, but you can leave it out if you’d like. Season the sauce to your taste, especially if using salted butter.
Timing - Timing pasta and sauce is always the trickiest part. This sauce takes about 7–8 minutes before adding the pasta, so if you’re using dried pasta, start the sauce once the pasta has been cooking for 2–3 minutes. You'll get the hang of it after making it once.
Need an easy side dish? Serve it with my Iceberg Wedge Salad.