Pasta alla Nerano (Zucchini pasta)

Moving right along on our journey through the alphabet, we’re now near the next letter for nuanced dishes, N. There were a few options that I looked at when coming up with an N dish.

Noodles, while similar to pasta are also they’re own separate thing…as according to Italians, nuts, navy beans, nutmeg, napa cabbage, and even nori.

However, today I wanted to keep things simple with a dish featured on Stanley Tucci’s Searching For Italy that honed in on simple but tasty dishes that are the foundation of Italian cooking, Pasta alla Nerano. The dish is quite simple on paper, fried discs of zucchini broken down into a sauce with some pasta water and usually topped with grated pecorino, but when the flavors blend together it’s like a symphony in your mouth.

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Serves 4

Note: This dish is as it’s best when you fry the zucchini the day before you want to serve it

• Vegetable oil, for frying

• 4-5 large zucchini, trimmed and thinly sliced

• Salt

• 1 pound of spaghetti

• Olive oil

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

• 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

• Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

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1. Fill a saucepan about 1/2 full with vegetable oil and heat to 350 degrees F on a fry/candy thermometer.

2. Once the oil is hot, add enough zucchini to get a somewhat even layer at the top of the oil, then fry for about 5 minutes, or until the zucchini just starts browning. Drain onto some paper towels, lightly sprinkle with salt, then repeat until you’ve used up all of the zucchini. Refrigerate overnight.

3. The next evening, boil your spaghetti in salted water until al dente (about 7-9 minutes). Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.

4. While the pasta cooks, heat a thin layer of olive oil in a saucepan, then add all of the zucchini. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the zucchini breaks down and starts to release it’s juices.

5. Add the pasta, 1/2 cup of pasta water and the butter, then toss until the butter is melted and has formed a somewhat creamy sauce. Add more pasta water if it seems too thick, then serve, topping with both cheeses and basil.