Spaghetti alla Nerano makes zucchini the star of the dinner show. This dish is so good, you’ll be putting zucchini on your shopping list every week. It’s creamy, chewy and full of earthy squash and piquant cheese flavors.
There’s been a sudden interest in spaghetti with zucchini recipes thanks to Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy television series. In the first episode, Stanley and his wife are served Spaghetti alla Nerano by a chef on the Amalfi Coast. Stanley’s reaction when he takes his first bite makes you want to pause the show and head to the kitchen to make a batch.
Spaghetti alla Nerano was first created in the 1950s by Maria Grazia, who owned a restaurant in Nerano, a village on the Amalfi Coast. Her family members still work in the restaurant. The dish uses the small, pale green Italian zucchini grown in the area. This zucchini is short in length and slightly striated. I can find it at my local farm stand, but if you cannot find it, regular zucchini will work just fine.
The dish traditionally uses a spicy Provolone cheese from Sorrento, called Provolone del Monaco. Here’s a little information about it and a photo. People often substitute Caciocavallo cheese in this dish. With the pandemic, I’m reluctant to make special trips to cheese shops, so I substituted half sharp Provolone from the grocery store and half Parmesan cheese. It is delicious!
There are a lot of variations on this recipe. Some people call for frying the zucchini the day before making the recipe. Others cook it the same day. Some cooks keep the fried zucchini slices whole, while others purée them. My version calls for frying the zucchini the day before and mashing the fried zucchini into a sauce. I reserve some slices to add to the dish at the end.
This recipe makes six servings.
Tips
- A lot of recipes call for adding a clove or two of garlic to the oil to infuse the oil with the flavor and then removing it from the oil. I made the recipe with the garlic step and without it and I don’t think it is necessary. You may want to try it sometime.
- I suggest mashing the zucchini by hand in a pot, using a potato masher. This will create a rustic sauce, with small, soft pieces of zucchini. If you prefer, you can use a hand-held blender or blend the cold zucchini in a food processor before adding it to a pot to warm up.
- The chef in the Tucci show said to use “a knob” of butter. I saw this reference in other recipes. I’ve translated that to a measure in tablespoons.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola oil (or another vegetable oil)
- 6 small zucchinis (about 5 or 6 inches long)
- 1 pound of spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 1/2 ounces sharp Provolone cheese, freshly grated
- 3 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- Kosher salt, to taste and for pasta water
- Fresh ground pepper, to taste
- Handful of basil leaves, large leaves torn
Directions
The day before you make the Spaghetti alla Nerano, cook the zucchini.
Thinly slice the zucchini. Add the oil to a deep skillet and turn up the heat. When the oil is hot (a piece of zucchini dropped into it sizzles), add the slices in batches and cook them on both sides. Adjust the heat as needed to avoid burning the zucchini. When the slices start to turn golden brown, remove them from the oil and add them to a heat-tolerant bowl. Repeat the process until all slices are cooked. Store the slices in the refrigerator overnight.
When you are ready to make the dish, put aside about a half cup of zucchini slices and add the rest to a sauce pan. Warm the slices in the pan. Add a half cup of water to the pot and mash the zucchini into a sauce. Add the butter, salt and pepper. Turn off the heat.
Boil the pasta water, add salt and cook the pasta until it is al dente. When you drain the pasta, save a cup of the water.
While the pasta is cooking, transfer the zucchini sauce to a big skillet in which you can finish the pasta dish. Warm the sauce again.
Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the sauce. Toss everything together. If the pasta is dry, add a little pasta water. Add the remaining zucchini slices and mix them into the pasta.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese and combine everything until creamy. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste. Just before putting the pasta in the serving bowl, add the basil.
Related Topics
Here are more pasta dishes that you might like.