A Lighter and Brighter Version of Spaghetti alla Nerano
A Little Twist on a Version I have been Making for Years
*Coco’s Bi-Monthly Crush List at the bottom of the recipe.
This post is sponsored by Thrive Market
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Thrive Market isn’t just another costly membership that you will forget to use. It’s a way to save time and money and sanity. I have regular items that I order on repeat and they arrive to my house just in time and before the troops revolt over running out of their favorite snack.
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Pasta alla Nerano
I still recall the first night I ate this. It was probably 15 or more years ago on an oversized terrace in Capri. It was one of those strangely laid out apartments where the kitchen was literally on the terrace, rather than inside the apartment. But the whole point of that terrace was to hang out, eat good food and take in the sweeping views from the Faraglioni to the tops of Marina Piccola. Our Russian friends would rent this peculiar apartment every Summer and Paulo, their long time friend and former manager of the iconic, Quisisana, would come over and cook for us.
This was a long time before Spaghetti alla Nerano would become famous. It was Paulo’s version and the one he had grown up eating on Capri. I was floored by its simplicity and how few ingredients there were. His eyes twinkled as he watched us gobble up our Italian (small) sized portion and reminded us that many more courses were still to come. So thank you Paulo. I tweaked the version a little on this because that’s the beauty of recipes. While I love the Spaghetti alla Nerano you will find all over the Amalfi coast, it’s fairly time consuming and heavier. This version is easier to make and lighter and brighter and more lemon forward. I eat this all year round but I love adding lemon and zest in the warmer months.
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of a good flavorful olive oil
4 garlic cloves - left whole and smashed lightly
6 medium zucchini - ends trimmed, halved and sliced into half moons (I like one that are not too thick or fat as the inside is too watery)
2-3 rosemary stems - left whole
4-5 long strips of lemon zest
2 dried chilis left whole or a pinch of dried chilis
1.5 teaspoons Maldon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons hand grated Parmigiano Reggiano
8 basil leaves roughly torn
1 pack of pasta - I used radiatori but I also love fusilli or anything where the sauce can get stuck in the pasta
Finish dish with another squeeze of lemon juice, drizzle of good olive oil and a dusting of Parmigiano.
Method:
Starting out in a cold pan, I used my Made In 3 quart saucier, add the olive oil and garlic and cook on a medium heat until the garlic has gone golden brown. Remove. Now add in the zucchini, lemon zest, chilis, rosemary and salt. Give it all a good mix and coat all the zucchini in the olive oil. Now cook covered on medium low for 25-30 minutes. Every 7-8 minutes or so, I will stir it so nothing on the bottom burns. You don’t want the zucchini going brown.
Once the zucchini is totally soft and cooked, you can uncovered and start mashing it with a fork off the heat. Now add the lemon juice, zest and Parmigiano cheese. Give it a good mix and then add in the heavy cream. If you don’t want to add cream, you don’t have to. It will still be good without. Now add in the torn basil leaves.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, as salty as the sea. Once it’s 1 minute under the al dente instructions, remove it straight to the sauce. Add a ladle of pasta water to the sauce and start mixing. Stir for about 30 seconds and you will have a beautiful and glossy sauce coating all the pasta.
Finish with a final squeeze of lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil and a dusting of cheese and it’s ready to serve!
Enjoy!
xx Corre
Also, Netflix just launched an adaptation to Little House on the Prairie yesterday and I got so excited I actually baked! Here is the link to the full recipe I used on www.tudum.com . If you love cornbread, you are going to love this one. The bacon fat gives it the most gorgeous crispy edges and the butter and maple syrup topping takes it to the next level.
Welcome to Coco’s Crush list where I give a handful of my all time favorite products with little to no explanation. Some I have been using forever and some might be new. None are sponsored.
The Perfect shade of Green - wearing this all Summer
Marble Serving Board that is perfect for hosting - CORRE20 for a 20% discount
Olive oil so good I went through both of them in 2 weeks - CORRE15 for a 15% discount
The best clear lip gloss I have found in awhile
What do you do with the long strips of lemon zest?
The clear lip gloss link went to the olive oil duo! This pasta is going on my summer repeats!!!