Spaghetti alla Nerano was invented in 1952 by Maria Grazia at her eponymous restaurant in the tiny fishing village of Nerano, located on the Sorrento Peninsula near the Amalfi Coast in Italy. 

This recipe for Spaghetti alla Nerano is my version, with the star being the beautiful and humble zucchini. This dish is always made using spaghetti, but I’m using rigatoni rigati to capture and cradle the sauce. I’m also adding a couple of other ingredients that, in my opinion, will enhance the flavor of the final dish.

Come along with me and see what’s cooking!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 33 minutes
Total Time: 48 minutes
Yields: 4 servings
Equipment: 1 (3-quart) saucier, 1 (6-quart) stock pot, chef’s knife, cutting board, rubber spatula, Microplane, colander, paring knife, fork

Ingredients:
5 cups of small zucchinis, sliced into thin half moons
1/4 cup of E.V.O.O. (extra virgin olive oil)
1 pound of rigatoni rigata, cooked to al dente
1 cup of pasta water (starchy pasta cooking liquid)
1 shallot, minced, optional
1 large lemon (2 peels from the lemon and the remaining zest from the lemon)
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (reserve one tablespoon for the end)
2 tablespoons of heavy cream
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 pinch of red pepper flakes, more if you like it spicier
1 tablespoon of kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground
1 sprig of rosemary
5 torn basil leaves
1 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated (substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano)
Garnishes:
1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated for serving
1 good drizzle of E.V.O.O. per serving

Instructions:
In a saucier, add the cold E.V.O.O. and minced shallots, smashed garlic cloves, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 1/2 the kosher salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Stir and cook until shallots have softened but not browned, 2-3 minutes. Add the sliced zucchini and the remaining kosher salt, stir, cover, and cook low and slow for 30 minutes, until zucchini is soft. Remove the garlic and rosemary. Once everything is soft, go in with a fork and mash it up. Off the heat, add lemon juice, lemon zest, heavy cream, freshly grated Pecorino cheese, and torn basil; stir to combine.

During that 30 minutes, bring a pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta to al dente. Save and set aside 1 cup of pasta water.

Add the cooked pasta and a couple of ladles of the pasta water, and stir straight into the sauce. Give it a good mix! Finish with a little more fresh-squeezed lemon juice to lighten the finished dish.

Add a sprinkling of freshly grated Pecorino and a drizzle of good E.V.O.O. to each serving.

There you have it, my Rigatoni alla Nerano.

Notes:
1) Nerano refers to a small fishing village on the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy. It is famous for giving its name to Spaghetti alla Nerano, a beloved, creamy pasta dish featuring deeply fried zucchini.

2) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

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