Creamy Nerano Spaghettoni
An extremely easy yet tasty recipe, typical of the Amalfi Coast, made with fried zucchini and an Italian territorial excellence: Provolone del Monaco.
Original Campanian recipe for creamy Nerano spaghetti, where I reveal all the secrets of true Nerano spaghetti.
An easy, simple, and tasty first course that everyone always loves. Everyone will ask for seconds!
If you can’t find Provolone del Monaco, you can substitute it with a good aged caciocavallo.
Many legends surround the secrets of this uniquely delicious dish, some even add eggs or saffron or blended zucchini to create the yellow/brown color of the creamy sauce, which instead – in the true Doc Nerano – forms simply from the effect of frying the zucchini (achieved naturally, without adding eggs, blended zucchini, or saffron) as we will see in the recipe, where I explain all the SECRETS for a true creamy Nerano, with the famous yellow cream.
The real secret of the Nerano at the Maria Grazia restaurant, in my opinion, is revealed by Scatti di gusto and also explains why Maria Grazia’s Nerano is inimitable: “…thanks to a tip from many years ago from Maria Grazia’s fiordilatte and provolone supplier, the expert cheesemaker told me that no one would succeed in mimicking the spaghetti because Rosa used curd which she left in the fridge to firm up and which would be used to make the provolone. Basically, an ingredient by its nature ready to melt in a flash with a little pasta cooking water….”
If you’re looking for other easy first courses, check my Blog, clicking on the Section: “Easy and Quick First Courses“.
If you’re looking for other summer recipes (sweet or savory) click on my: “Summer Special“.
You might also be interested in:
- Spaghetti alla Assassina original easy step-by-step recipe.
- Creamy Spaghettini with lemon water and provolone. Easy recipe.
- Spaghetti with chili, sun-dried tomatoes, and crumbled tarallo.
- Spaghetti with broccoli cream, robiola, and walnuts. Easy recipe.
- Tagliolini with lemon, cream, and prosciutto crudo.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Campania
- Seasonality: All seasons, Summer
Ingredients for Nerano Spaghettoni
- 14 oz Spaghettoni (double, I use De Cecco no.412)
- 12 Zucchini (NOT large, they should be small)
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 3/4 cup Grana Padano DOP (grated)
- 3/4 cup Grated mix of Provolone del Monaco (or sweet caciotta or the head of the 'Sorrento baby' or aged podolico caciocavallo)
- to taste Basil (plentiful)
- to taste Salt
- to taste Black pepper
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil (plentiful and high quality, for frying about 1 quart)
Tools
- Bowls set of Guzzini bowls of various sizes
- Knife
- Paper towel
- Pot
- Pan Lagostina, non-stick (without PFOA, cadmium, and lead)
- Thermometer kitchen
Preparation of Nerano Spaghettoni
I must say, it’s better to fry the zucchini a few hours before, so that the flavors meld, even better if done the day before.
Slice the zucchini into thin rounds and soak them in a pan with plenty of hot extra virgin olive oil, at medium/high heat (about 350°F) a few at a time, enough to turn the disks old gold color.
You need to be careful with temperature and quantity (if you want perfect cooking, if possible, equip yourself with a kitchen thermometer): in a quart of oil at 392°F you must immerse no more than 5 oz of zucchini at a time; there will be a drop in temperature that will reach around 320°F and the zucchini will be perfect when the temperature rises back to about 340°F.
Fry the zucchini for about 10 minutes they should only brown, BUT not burn, otherwise the seasoning becomes bitter (but they shouldn’t be anemic either).
If the zucchini is cooked at a temperature lower than 340°F, they will be greasy and limp; if cooked at too high a temperature, they will become dry.
Lay the fried zucchini in a bowl without paper towels, salt them, and cover them with fresh basil.
Remove the oil from the pan in which you fried the zucchini (save it in a small bowl, for the next step) and add the butter (in the same pan) with plenty of basil and let it melt gently.
Meanwhile, drop the pasta into boiling salted water.
They should be al dente, so for the cooking times, follow those indicated on the pasta package, draining it at least 5 minutes before the time indicated on the package.
Add a couple of ladles of cooking water to the melted butter. Then also add the zucchini with a little frying oil taken from the container where they were placed after frying and stir for about 3 minutes. This operation is important (a secret) because the zucchini must revive, otherwise they result dry.
The emulsion of butter with zucchini, part of their frying oil, and pasta cooking water is the first SECRET essential for the formation of the famous yellow cream (natural color, released by the fried zucchini). The boiling pasta water is used to regenerate the previously fried zucchini and make them soft. Reabsorbing the water they have lost, they are ready to capture the dish’s flavors, from which they would otherwise remain detached and dry.
Once the cream is created, drain the pasta SAVING the cooking water.
Pour the pasta into the zucchini pan and mix it over low heat with a few ladles of cooking water (it helps release starch from the pasta and create a cream), then add the grated cheese mix. You need to mix everything very well, and you will see that the pasta will become even creamier (II SECRET).
Finally, sprinkle the Nerano spaghettoni with black pepper and another touch of fresh basil and serve them piping hot.
Shopping Tips!!!
For perfect zucchini frying, I recommend the Lagostina non-stick pan (without PFOA, cadmium, and lead) I have been very satisfied and I hope to soon treat myself to the entire Lagostina cookware set, perfect for quality/price ratio, cooking uniformity, and non-stick capability.
You can buy all the items I recommend above, on Amazon, at a great price, just click directly on the relevant links.
You can buy all the items I recommend above, on Amazon, at a great price, just click directly on the relevant links.
History and Origins of Nerano Zucchini Spaghetti?
Marina del Cantone in Nerano has always been a natural harbor, a small village inhabited by fishermen who, after fishing trips, would enjoy a snack under the Chapel overlooking the beach; right where the restaurant that invented Spaghetti alla Nerano now stands.
In 1901, thanks to Maria Grazia, the first true restaurant was born, a trattoria to feed the fishermen and the wealthy travelers who already frequented the coast in those years and were looking for simple and genuine foods.
It was in 1952, thanks to friendship with a regular visitor, Prince Pupetto of Sirignano, that the recipe that would become famous was served for the first time.
Spaghetti prepared by chance, with what was left in the kitchen: zucchini cooked in the morning, fried into thin rounds for the scapece, and leftovers of three local cheeses.
The recipe for Nerano zucchini spaghetti was a success and, over the years, became a signature of the restaurant, under the management of daughter Donna Rosa, then grandsons Lello and Andrea, and today, the new generation including Rosa.
