Italian Spaghetti with Fried Zucchini (Spaghetti alla Nerano)

This simple Italian spaghetti dish from Campania puts a glut of courgettes / zucchini to brilliant use.

Southern Italians often go by a nickname, ‘mangiafolie’ - leaf eaters. They don’t use quite as much meat or dairy in the South of Italy, which means vegetable dishes can be bright, clear-tasting and alive with flavour. This dish, known as ‘spaghetti alla Nerano’, is known all around the Campania region, especially Naples and down the Amalfi Coast. It has a few cousin dishes in nearby regions, including Calabria and even Sicily, which is often referred to as spaghetti alle zucchine fritte - spaghetti with fried courgettes. This dish often uses pecorino cheese and provolone, a cheese local to Naples. If you cannot get provolone, fontina or even gouda cheese can substitute it well. Much closer to the point. And boy is this dish close to the point. Like many Italian dishes in the South, there are no bells and whistles. This dish is all about pasta and vegetable and it’s incredibly fast to make too. Let’s go!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2x)

• 150-200g spaghetti

• 100ml olive oil

• 1-2 small courgettes

• small bunch of basil

• 1x clove garlic, sliced

• 2-3 tablespoons pecorino cheese, grated (or use parmesan)

• 50g provolone cheese (can replace with fontina, gouda or mozzarella)

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

  

WALKTHROUGH

1. First, slice the courgettes/zucchini into thin coins about 2-3mm thick. Set them aside on a paper towel to dry slightly.

   

2. Now we’ll fry the courgettes/zucchini. Place a frying pan onto medium heat and add the 100ml of olive oil. Bring the oil up to a shimmering heat. Gently place the courgette/zucchini slices into the pan, frying them for 1 minute per side until lightly browned. Fry them in batches. Remove the courgette/zucchini slices from the pan and set them onto a paper towel to drain.

   

   

3. Before we cook the spaghetti, grate the 50g provolone cheese and combine with the 3 tablespoons of grated pecorino cheese. Keep the grated cheese aside so it’s ready to go.

   

4. Place the 200g spaghetti into a pan of boiling, well-salted water. Ensure the water is only just covering the spaghetti - we want the pasta water to be saturated with starch which will make the sauce silky later.

   

5. Just before the spaghetti is cooked to al dente, place a frying pan onto a medium-low heat with the reserved olive oil from frying the courgettes. Add the sliced clove of garlic and gently fry it until it just begins to brown slightly.

   

6. Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan, lifting it straight out of the pasta water without draining it. Add the 3 tablespoons of pecorino cheese (or parmesan) and the 50g grated provolone cheese that were combined earlier. Keeping the heat on low, stir the pasta briskly, melting the cheese and agitating the starch out of the pasta. Add very small splashes of the pasta cooking water if it appears to be drying up. Once creamy, turn off the heat completely.

   

   

   

7. Add the 1/4 tsp black pepper and the fried courgette/zucchini pieces. Toss them through the pasta, reserving the basil leaves to garnish the dish.

   

8. Serve the pasta as soon as possible, scattering over the basil leaves from earlier along with any reserved courgette/zucchini chips. Enjoy!