This classic take from Flavia Diamante is possibly the best Spaghetti alla Nerano recipe we’ve tried! Nerano is a town on the Amalfi coast near Naples. This famous Italian pasta recipe features provolone cheese and a secret ingredient: fried zucchini! We’ve done a bunch of research, and in our view this recipe has never been truly codified in Italian cuisine (sorry, Stanley Tucci—yours is just one version). The basics seem to be fried zucchini, a combination of cheeses that melt nicely (and include provolone) and some basil.
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In Italian? Discover Spaghetti Alla Nerano, Ricetta Originale!
How to Make the Best Spaghetti Alla Nerano
Prepare the Zucchini
The secret ingredient that makes the traditional Spaghetti alla Nerano recipe so unique is fried zucchini! In this recipe, you’ll want to slice the zucchini into 2mm thick slices. This allows you to fry them to a golden color without risk of burning them.
Fry the Zucchini
Fry the zucchini in batches at 320°F / 160°C until golden. Set them aside on an absorbent towel and lightly salt them. Deep fryers are cheap and ideal for this job!
Zucchini is watery and will quickly drop the oil temperature when they are added. If you are frying the zucchini in a pan (instead of a temperature-controlled deep fryer), you’ll want to monitor the temperature and raise the heat again before each new batch is added.
Prepare the Cheeses
Grate the provolone cheese. Monaco provolone is the traditional cheese for this dish. It is a cheese from Naples, similar to caciocavallo. It has a slight peppery flavor and melts wonderfully! Substitute caciocavallo if you can’t find this cheese at a specialty cheese shop.
You’ll also want to finely grate the Parmigiano Reggiano. Buy this cheese ground as a super fine powder. If grating fresh at home, consider passing the grated Parmigiano through a sieve to make it super powdery. Finely grated Parmigiano melts better and more evenly for sauces like this and Fettuccine Alfredo sauce!
Make the Creamy Cheese Sauce
Cook the Pasta
Cook the spaghetti for in salted, boiling water according to package instructions for ‘al dente’ pasta. In the meantime, make the cheese sauce!
Make the Cheese Sauce for Nerano
We won’t lie: this particular sauce recipe is tricker to make than some others due to the tendency of the provolone to melt into a stringy mess if it gets too hot. If you want to try another (equally tasty) but less creamy version of Spaghetti alla Nerano, check out our other recipe 🙂
That said, if you are willing to do some whisking and keep a close eye on the sauce, this recipe isn’t that hard.
Add the butter to a large bowl and drizzle in a ladle of the hot pasta water to melt the butter. Butter (and this quantity) is critical in this recipe to provide the emulsion needed for melting the cheeses into a creamy sauce.
Add the Parmigiano cheese to the butter and mix to blend—leaving you with something like a traditional Fettuccine Alfredo sauce.
Now comes the tricky part: Add the provolone cheese and whisk well. Position the bowl with the cheese sauce over the boiling pasta to create a double boiler. Using the heat from the cooking pasta to melt the cheese, whisk continuously just until the cheese is melted and you have a creamy sauce that coats the back of your spoon.
Add the rest of the sauce ingredients: black pepper, the fried zucchini, zucchini flowers (if you have them) and basil.
At this point the pasta should be ready. Add the cooked drained pasta to the sauce and mix it quickly (off the heat). Plate and serve!
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Best Spaghetti alla Nerano Recipe—Creamy, Cheesy with Zucchini
Equipment
- 1 large pan or deep fryer for frying the zucchini
Ingredients
- 21 oz zucchini cut into 2 mm slices
- 12 zucchini flowers optional
- 4.5 oz butter
- 2 oz provolone "del Monaco" or caciocavallo
- 3.5 oz parmigiano
- 10 leaves fresh basil
- black pepper to taste
- fine salt to taste
- oil for frying the zucchini sunflower or peanut
- 11 oz spaghetti
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients
- Cut the zucchini into 2 mm thick medallions.
- Grate the provolone. Grate the parmigiano into a very fine powder.
- Remove the inside of the zucchini flowers (if using them) and slice the flowers.
Fry the Zucchini
- Fry the zucchini in batches at 320°F / 160°C until golden. Deep fryers are cheap and ideal for this job!21 oz zucchini, oil for frying the zucchini
- Set the fried zucchini aside on an absorbent towel and lightly salt them.
Cook the Pasta
- Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water according to package instructions for 'al dente' and in the meantime…11 oz spaghetti
Make the Creamy Cheese Sauce
- Add the butter to a large bowl and drizzle in a ladle of the hot pasta water to melt the butter. Butter (and this quantity) is critical in this recipe to provide the emulsion needed for melting the cheeses into a creamy sauce.4.5 oz butter
- Add the Parmigiano cheese to the butter and mix to blend.3.5 oz parmigiano
- Add the provolone cheese and whisk well.2 oz provolone
- Position the bowl with the cheese sauce over the boiling pasta to create a double boiler. Using the heat from the cooking pasta to melt the cheese…
- …Whisking continuously just until the cheese is melted and you have a creamy sauce that coats the back of your spoon. Salt to taste.fine salt
- Add the rest of the sauce ingredients: black pepper, the fried zucchini, zucchini flowers (if you have them) and basil.12 zucchini flowers, 10 leaves fresh basil, black pepper
- At this point the pasta should be ready. Add the cooked drained pasta to the sauce and mix it quickly (off the heat). Plate and serve!
- Buon Appetito!
