Today I’m going to take you through one of my favourite summer pasta dishes: Spaghetti alla Nerano. This one is from the little seaside village of Nerano in Italy, near Sorrento, and it’s one of those recipes that is deceptively simple to make at home.
It’s a delicious pasta with fried zucchini, spaghetti and provolone cheese at its core, with small pieces of torn basil wilted into the creamiest sauce. The result is beautiful, but it is the technique and choice of ingredients that make this one special.
We’ll get into all the tips and tricks to mastering this dish today, including the very important topic of ingredient choice and emulsification. Now then, let’s get into it.
A few things to know before you start:
Zucchini: It may sound simple, but choosing the correct zucchini is important. More on this later including a little run down of why it’s important.
Cheese: The traditional recipes use just Provolone del Monaco, but we will add in a small amount of a second cheese for balance. This is optional.
Infused oil: The zucchini-infused olive oil doubles as the base for your sauce and can also be saved for dressings.
Heat control: Like carbonara, the sauce here emulsifies best with gentle warmth, heat control is super important.
Serves 2-3 pax
