Italian
Spaghetti alla Nerano
by Chef Roberto Di Pinto · 19.1K subscribers on YouTube
A classic pasta from the Campania region, featuring zucchini in two ways: crispy fried rounds and a creamy zucchini sauce. Finished with Provolone del Monaco or Parmesan cheese.
- Difficulty
- easy
Ingredients
7 items- ZucchiniSome for frying, some for the cream (green part only)
- BasilFresh, for blanching and garnish
- GarlicCloves, crushed
- Extra Virgin Olive OilFor garlic oil and to finish
- Fine SaltFor salting pasta water and seasoning
- SpaghettiApproximately 9 minutes cooking time
- Provolone del MonacoGrated, or substitute with Parmigiano Reggiano
Method
- Slice zucchini into thin rounds.
- Fry the zucchini rounds until golden and crispy; set some aside for garnish.
- For the zucchini cream: take only the green part of the zucchini, blanch for one minute in boiling water, then immediately cool in ice water. In the same water, blanch the basil. Drain, then blend the green zucchini and basil with a little cold water until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Prepare garlic oil: heat olive oil with crushed garlic cloves in a pan.
- Cook spaghetti in salted boiling water according to package directions (about 9 minutes), reserving some pasta water.
- Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan with garlic oil. Add a few tablespoons of the zucchini cream, some pasta water, and a drizzle of olive oil. Toss well.
- Plate the pasta, adding more zucchini cream if desired. Top generously with grated Provolone del Monaco (or Parmesan) and crispy fried zucchini chips.
