SPAGHETTI ALLA NERANO

Thinly slice your zucchinis into ⅛ – ¼” slices.  This is easiest to do on a mandoline, but you can also do it by hand.  Set aside.

Heat the olive oil and vegetable oil together in a large deep skillet (should be about ½” – 1” of oil in the bottom of the pan) over medium high heat until the temperature of the oil reached 350 degrees.  Working in batches, add the sliced zucchini into the pan in a single layer and cook for 4-5 minutes until golden brown on the first side and then, flip, and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned on the second side.  Remove with tongs to a sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.  Season immediately with salt.  You will probably have 4 or 5 batches.  Note – the zucchini will shrink in size as it cooks, so although this looks like a lot of zucchini when you slice it, it will lose some volume after cooking.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for your spaghetti.  Cook the spaghetti to about 2 minutes short of package directions so that it is very al dente.  DO NOT discard any pasta water.

While the pasta boiling, remove most of the oil from the pan that you cooked the zucchini in, leaving a couple of tablespoons.  Add the garlic to the pan and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently so the garlic does not burn.  Add the pasta directly from the pot into the pan using tongs (no problem if some water goes in with the spaghetti).  Add about ¼ cup of the pasta water to the pan and stir vigorously with the tongs.  Add the butter, black pepper, and ¾ of the fried zucchini to the pan along with another ¼ cup of the pasta water and stir vigorously until the butter is melted and a sauce begins to form.

Add ½ cup of the parmesan and another ¼ cup of the pasta water and continue to vigorously stir the pasta with the tongs as the cheese melts into the sauce.  Add another ½ cup of the cheese and another ¼ cup of the pasta water and toss, toss, toss.  A glossy sauce should be coating the pasta now.  Add another ¼ – ½ cup of the pasta water as needed and toss, toss, toss until you are happy with the consistency of the sauce.  Add the remaining ½ cup of parmesan and the basil leaves and toss until just combined.

Serve the pasta in bowls topped with the remaining fried zucchini, more fresh basil, and a sprinkling of parmesan.  DEVOUR!!

Spaghetti alla Nerano is a pasta dish invented in the village of Nerano, on the Sorrento Peninsula in the Amalfi coast made with spaghetti, fried zucchini, provolone del Monaco*, grated parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, garlic, basil, and salt.

*Provolone del Monaco is hard to find in the USA, so I just use extra parmesan or you could use a sweet provolone from the deli counter