Pasta alla Nerano

In our family, zucchini are controversial, there are those who consider them utterly redundant and downright dull, others love their nutty, delicate flavor. But with this dish, everyone agrees it’s simply delicious. The particularly creamy texture comes from just a few ingredients. Zucchini, pasta and cheese play perfectly with each other as the stars of the show.

Pasta alla Nerano comes from the Campania region of Italy. The picturesque village of Nerano is located on the Sorrento Peninsula. Supposedly, this dish was created in the 1950s by Maria Grazia, a local cook. She used the fresh ingredients that were available to her right on her doorstep – specifically the famous zucchini from the region. From there, this exceptionally delicious (but not very well-known) pasta made its way to other parts of the world via the US.

You only need a few ingredients, but pay attention to the following:  Buy small, delicate zucchini if possible. Older, larger zucchini are harder and have more seeds, both of which we don’t want here. We mixed a yellow zucchino with green zucchini because it makes the dish visually more exciting.

Traditionally, provolone cheese is used – but in our area, it is rarely found in the stores. We used young pecorino instead (which is not too intense), mixed with Parmigiano Reggiano. This worked wonderfully. You can also use either pecorino or just parmigiano. The only piece of advice: please never use cheap, grated ‘fake’ parmesan, rather invest a little more. You will be rewarded with a great flavour.

Let’s get down to the preparation. Start by preparing the zucchini. Wash them thoroughly and cut them into thin slices as evenly as possible, about 2 – 3 mm thick.

You can also work with long, thin strips cut lengthwise. However, this is more difficult to do evenly with a knife, so choose this option only if you can work with a mandoline or machine.

Heat the olive oil until it raises small bubbles on a wooden cooking tool. Now fry the zucchini slices in small portions until they are golden brown. You’ll need some patience when doing this – it takes longer than you think to get the right colourisation.

Don’t be afraid to deep fry. The slices won’t be oily if you take them out of the oil with a slotted spoon or strainer, as you drain them immediately while they’re still quite hot. We also dab them with another piece of paper from above.

The finished fried slices have lost a lot of water, you’ll be amazed at how much the volume shrinks. Now let the zucchini cool briefly before moving on.

Now it’s time to boil the water for the pasta, we recommend Spaghetti. Take a large pot and salt the water generously for this dish, i.e. 2 teaspoons of salt per litre of water (rule of thumb: pasta water should be as salty as the sea).

Now press garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife blade. This separates the skin and the garlic will release its full flavour without having to be eaten.

The garlic flavour remains very subtle and delicate this way. Heat some oil in a wide pan (you can use some of the frying oil here) over a medium heat and sauté the garlic cloves gently.

Now add the courgettes and basil leaves and continue to sauté everything with a little pepper. We also add a pinch of cinnamon to emphasise the flavour of the courgette. Interestingly, the cinnamon doesn’t taste sweet at all in this constellation, just aromatic. You still only need a little heat, it’s just a matter of ensuring that all the ingredients are warm and the flavours are well combined until they come into contact with the pasta.

When the water in the pot is boiling, add the pasta. Here’s a little tip for Spaghetti: Hold the bundle upright in the centre of the pot with one hand and then twist it with the other.

When you let go, the spaghetti will fan out evenly on its own. You only need a little help with a fork to dip them all in at the same time. Perfect!

Now take the garlic cloves out of the pan.

As soon as the pasta is “al dente” – and by that we mean just done, but without a hard core – remove it from the pot with tongs and add it to the zucchini in the pan, dripping wet. Do not drain the pasta! The cooking liquid is crucial for the texture of your dish.

Add the grated cheese and then carefully mix everything together. Keep stirring until the cheese has melted and a creamy sauce has formed. You can add a few spoonfuls of cooking water from the pot until you have achieved the perfect texture.

Serve the pasta alla Nerano hot on deep plates. This is best done with tongs to pick the perfect mixture for each plate. Garnish with fresh mint and basil leaves and some more freshly grated cheese.

Enjoy.

And may the taste be with you.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

500 g spaghetti

1 kg fresh zucchini (yes, twice as much as spaghetti)

2 cloves of garlic

50 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano

100 g grated Provolone (alternatively: young Pecorino)

100 ml olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of ground cinnamon

fresh basil and mint leaves