Fettuccine alla Nerano

I stumbled across this recipe while searching for ideas on what to cook with garden-fresh zucchini kindly given to me. I loved the ingredients and the simplicity of the dish. Traditionally it's made with spaghetti, but you can choose any pasta you prefer.

The story behind its name and origin are as follows: in the 1950s in her small Ristorante in the bay of Nerano on the Italian Amalfi coast, Maria Grazia served her guest's spaghetti with zucchini. But she didn't prepare the pasta with Pecorino, as was customary in Campania, but with Provolone del Monaco: the semi-hard cheese made from fresh whole cow's milk, which is typical for the Sorrento area. The cheese made the spaghetti deliciously creamy. Word got around, and nobody dared to call them Spaghetti alle Zucchine anymore – the name would be just too common for such a delicious meal.

Pictured is Maria Grazia who created
the Spaghetti alla Nerano.

 

Ingredients | Serves 4
350 g Fettuccine, or pasta of your choice
4
small Zucchini
200 g
 Provolone del Monaco – Italian cheese
1 bunch
Fresh basil
1 Clove of garlic
 
Olive oil
  Salt and pepper for seasoing

 

Preparation

  1. Cut the zucchini into thin slices and fry them in plenty of olive oil for a few minutes until golden brown. Do not let the oil get too hot.

  2. Wash basil. Pat the zucchini slices and basil leaves dry with a paper towel. Mix half of the zucchini with half of the basil with a hand blender until creamy.

  3. Bring water to the boil, add salt and cook the fettuccine al dente. When the pasta is almost done, peel the garlic, press the clove lightly and fry gently in a spoonful of oil in a large pan. Remove the garlic, add the fried zucchini slices to the pan.

  4. Strain the fettuccine. Catch a cup of pasta water. Add the fettuccine to the pan with the zucchini slices and fry for a minute. Reduce heat.

  5. Mix the grated provolone with the pureed zucchini. Add a little hot pasta water until the sauce has a creamy consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now mix the fettuccine and zucchini slices well with the sauce. Garnish with basil and serve warm.

    Serve | Garnish with basil and more grated cheese – serve warm.