Spaghetti alla Nerano, the grandmother’s recipe for one of the most famous dishes of Italian cuisine, on a level with pasta all’amatriciana, pasta alla carbonara and pasta alla norma. As you know, it’s an easy and quick zucchini pasta recipe, but also a typical dish of Neapolitan cuisine that you absolutely must try, perhaps after tasting Spaghetti alla Gennaro by Totò. With the recipe for spaghetti alla Nerano you’ll be able to bring to the table a simple dish with typically Campanian flavors, an Italian first course with zucchini, original and tasty. The origin of pasta alla Nerano is wrapped in several legends; the most famous dates it back to the 1950s, when a restaurateur in the small bay of Nerano, to bind the pasta and zucchini, tried adding Provolone del Monaco, a stretched-curd cheese, more or less aged and spicy, typical of the Lattari mountains, which gives the pasta creaminess and flavor. If, however, you want to make pasta alla Nerano without Provolone del Monaco because you cannot find it, substitute it with caciocavallo and Parmesan. Now let’s discover together how to make spaghetti alla Nerano, but before rushing into the kitchen, as always I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 3
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make pasta alla Nerano
- 11 oz spaghetti (bronze-drawn)
- 21 oz zucchini
- 5 oz provolone (del Monaco or caciocavallo and Parmesan)
- to taste salt
- to taste basil
- to taste extra virgin olive oil (for frying the zucchini)
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste black pepper (if desired)
Tools
- Pot
- Frying pan
Preparation of pasta alla Nerano
To make spaghetti alla Nerano, put the water on to boil for the pasta and start preparing the zucchini: wash them, trim the ends, slice them into thin rounds about 3–4 millimeters thick (about 1/8–5/32 inch) and heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Fry the zucchini slices a few at a time in the hot oil and cook them for about 5–6 minutes, just until golden. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a tray lined with paper towels so the paper absorbs the excess oil.
As you cook the zucchini, season them with salt and torn fresh basil. Put the pasta into the boiling lightly salted water, warm a little oil with a garlic clove and add the zucchini, pouring in a little cooking water to soften them. After about 6 minutes of cooking the spaghetti (I actually used linguine), drain them and transfer them to the pan with the zucchini, being careful to reserve some cooking water.
Add a little pasta cooking water as needed to continue cooking the spaghetti risotto-style. Turn off the heat and add the Provolone del Monaco little by little, stirring gently until you obtain the characteristic creamy sauce.
Finish with torn fresh basil, add a bit more pasta cooking water, stir and, once ready, add a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper if you like. Serve immediately, still hot and creamy.
Storage notes and tips
Consume spaghetti alla Nerano as soon as they are ready. The secret to obtaining creamy spaghetti is not to let the pasta dry out: add the pasta cooking water little by little and only as needed.
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