Straight from the Campania region of Italy to your kitchen, I developed this classic Spaghetti alla Nerano recipe so you can easily make it at home. I use thinly sliced fried zucchini, torn basil, Pecorino Romano, and Parmigiano Reggiano to create an incredibly creamy sauce, then finish it with a knob of butter. I love that in just over 30 minutes, I can put a salty, creamy, and insanely delicious pasta on the dinner table.
The story on this one is not mine. It belongs to Ristorante Maria Grazia in the small village of Nerano in southern Italy, where the dish was invented in 1952 and where it still shows up on menus every summer. It belongs in the same family as my pasta Cacio e Pepe and my pasta Alla Gricia, because the base of all three is the same idea: hard grated cheese emulsified into starchy pasta water until the pasta wears a glossy salty coat.
Spaghetti alla Nerano
Spaghetti alla Nerano is a Campanian pasta dish, traditionally made with spaghetti, thinly sliced fried zucchini, fresh basil, and provolone del Monaco, a hard, sweet, buttery cow’s milk cheese from the Sorrento peninsula. The sauce is made by emulsifying grated cheese with hot pasta water until it wears the noodles like a silk coat.
The traditional cheese for Nerano is provolone del Monaco, and it is genuinely tough to come across outside a big city Italian grocer in a place like NYC or Chicago. What I use at home is a combination of pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano, which is more readily available and gives the same emulsified and creamy result minus a little of the subtle sweetness the provolone would have added. To make up for that missing buttery flavor, I finish the pasta with a knob of unsalted butter, and it makes the sauce so rich and creamy you would swear I dumped heavy cream in the pan. It’s that good!
When I developed this recipe, I made sure to keep it simple so you can easily make it at home by following a few steps in order. First I slice the zucchini into thin rounds and fry them in olive oil, draining each batch on paper towels and seasoning them with salt and torn basil while they rest. Then the spaghetti goes into a pot of well salted water. While it cooks, I softly brown a little sliced garlic in a couple tablespoons of the reserved frying oil and cut the heat the moment it goes golden.
Once the pasta is done I kill the heat under the pasta water too, drain the spaghetti, and let it sit in the garlic pan for a full minute so everything drops below the point where cheese seizes. Then I vigorously mix in the pecorino and parmigiano, followed by one ladle of hot pasta water at a time, whisking until the sauce goes glossy and creamy. Last, I fold in the butter and the fried zucchini and plate it straight from the pan.
I highly recommend giving this one a real shot when zucchini is stacked up at the market, and please read the chef tips below before you start. Do that and you will set down a bowl of pasta that tastes like an Amalfi summer, and everyone at your table will ask how you did it. Let’s cook!
Ingredients and Substitutions
I made sure this Spaghetti alla Nerano recipe uses simple ingredients you can easily get at any grocery store. Plus, I provide a few substitutions that I have already tested and know work well.
- Fresh zucchini – Sliced potato chip thin and fried in olive oil, this is the ingredient that separates Nerano from every other emulsified-cheese pasta on an Italian menu. Zucchini brings a subtly sweet buttery flavor and adds green color and vegetable to a bowl that would otherwise be pasta and cheese. Yellow squash is a straight swap when zucchini is not at the market.
- Fresh basil leaves – Torn over the zucchini as they drain, and again over the finished pasta at the table. The sweet, herby, peppery notes are what tie the cheese and the zucchini together. Dried basil is a distant second at a ratio of a 1/4 teaspoon dried to every fresh leaf.
- Spaghetti is the traditional pasta for Nerano, and the reason there is enough starchy water to emulsify the sauce. Dry pasta is what you want here, not fresh, because dry pasta gives up more starch to the cooking water and that starch is what holds the cheese sauce together. Any long dry pasta; bucatini, linguine, pappardelle works too.
- Pecorino Romano, finely grated – The tangy, earthy, salty flavor with a soft funk to it that anchors the sauce. Pecorino is one of my favorite cheeses to reach for in any pasta and the workhorse of the emulsion in this bowl.
- Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated is the nutty umami-forward partner to the pecorino. It’s the reason the sauce has depth beyond the sharp salt of the sheep’s milk cheese. Pecorino plus parmigiano is an undefeated combination in a pasta pan, and it is what I used at pretty much every restaurant kitchen I ever worked in.
- Garlic, thinly sliced – I just love the garlicky flavors in this pasta. It gives the sauce a subtle but recognizable base flavor. When they’re gently browned in this pasta, it’s even more amazing.
- Olive oil is the classical choice in any Italian dish for a reason, and it adds flavor. A good everyday olive oil is fine here, not the finishing bottle.
- Unsalted butter – A small knob folded in at the end to compensate for the buttery provolone del Monaco I do not have access to at home. Unsalted only, so the pecorino gets to do the seasoning.
- Seasonings – Salt goes on the fried zucchini after they come out of the oil, never before. Salt in the pan draws moisture out of the raw zucchini and kills the browning. Pepper adjusts to taste at the end.
How to Make Spaghetti alla Nerano
Slice the zucchini paper-thin: Use a mandolin to slice the zucchini into thin rounds. They should be about the thickness of a potato chip. A sharp chef’s knife works too if you don’t have a mandolin. However, the mandolin gives you the same-thickness cut that fries fast and browns at the same rate, slice to slice. Slice 2 zucchini instead of 1 if you love zucchini or want to feed a fourth person a little more generously.
Fry the zucchini in olive oil: Add enough olive oil to a large non-stick skillet to fully coat the bottom. Heat up the pan over medium. Once the oil is hot, lay in enough zucchini slices to cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer. Fry 45 to 60 seconds per side, until the edges start to brown.
Drain, then salt and basil on the paper towels: Transfer the fried zucchini to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat the frying process until every slice is done. Once every slice is out of the oil, season them with salt and tear 6 to 8 fresh basil leaves over the top. The basil perfumes the zucchini as they sit, and the salt seasons them without drawing moisture.
Boil the spaghetti: Drop the spaghetti into a large pot of boiling salted water and cook according to the package.
Softly brown the garlic in a saucier: Add some of the leftover frying oil to a saucier over low heat. Cook the sliced garlic just until lightly browned. As soon as the slices go golden, kill the heat.
Drop the pasta in: Once the pasta is done, drain it, reserving the starchy pasta water. Then, add the drained spaghetti to the garlic pan. Kill the heat on the pasta pot too. Then let the pasta sit in the pan for a minute before you touch it. This is the load-bearing step of the whole recipe. Check my chef tip below for more details.
Vigorously mix in the cheeses: Add the pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano to the pan. Vigorously mix them into the pasta, moving the noodles like a stir-fry for a minute or 2. The cheese melts into the pasta at the same rate all the way through.
Add pasta water: Ladle in a 4 to 6 ounce pour of the hot pasta water. Then vigorously whisk the pasta until the sauce goes glossy and creamy. Add another ladle if the sauce is tight, and keep whisking.
Fold in the butter and the fried zucchini: Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Then fold in the butter and let it melt into the sauce. Fold in the fried zucchini, keeping a few slices aside for the plates.
Serve immediately, I love adding extra grated cheese, more torn basil, and the reserved fried zucchini on top. Highly recommend it!
Chef Tip + Notes
Temperature is the whole game on this spaghetti alla Nerano pasta. A pan that’s too hot is what wrecks it every time. The difference between a silky emulsified sauce and a clumped one is a matter of a few degrees. Yes, that’s right! If the pasta water is still boiling on the burner, the cheese will seize the second it hits the pan. Trust me, there is no fix on the back end. Turn the heat off on both burners, drop the pasta into the garlic pan, count to 60. Then and only then do the cheeses go in.
- Salt the zucchini after frying, never before: Salting raw zucchini draws water out of the slices, and wet zucchini in the pan steams instead of browning. I season with salt only after the slices come out of the oil onto the paper towels.
- Fry in a single layer, no overlap: Overlap the zucchini in the pan and the ones on the bottom go soft while the ones on top never touch the oil. I work in batches, one flat layer at a time, so every slice browns.
- Reserve the frying oil for the garlic pan: The oil in the zucchini pan has picked up a little of the sweetness of the squash and is the exact right base for softly browning the garlic. Two tablespoons is all you need.
- Ladle the pasta water in one at a time, do not dump: The “one ladle at a time” whisking is what slows the melt down enough for the emulsion to form. Dump the water all at once and the cheese seizes into strings and the sauce goes gritty.
Serving Suggestions
I like serving this Spaghetti alla Nerano pasta as the main plate on a weeknight in peak summer. A simple mixed greens Italian salad goes on the side, and a hunk of French bread. Serving it with a small dish of good olive oil is a must on my table.
For a Sunday dinner, I typically plate it as the main course with a piece of chicken piccata. It also goes excellently next to an Italian chopped salad tossed in homemade Italian dressing. Nerano is not a leftover dish, so everything I make gets served.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: I do not make this one ahead. Nerano is a dish you plate the second it’s emulsified. Every minute past that in the pan overcooks the pasta. If you must, you can hold the finished bowl for 20 minutes max. Any longer and it’ll start to clump, and it won’t be able to be re-emulsified.
How to Store: Store any leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Though, I want to be honest, Nerano is at its best the second it hits the plate. Every day past day one, the zucchini softens and the sauce loses a little of the silk.
How to Reheat: I reheat in a pan over low heat with a small splash of water to loosen the pasta and re-emulsify the sauce. Move it constantly so the cheese does not seize. Past 3 days in the fridge the zucchini goes soft, and no reheat will bring the texture back.
How to Freeze: I do not freeze this one, and I would not recommend trying.
More Homemade Pasta Recipes
Spaghetti alla Nerano Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large fresh zucchini, thinly sliced like a potato chip
- 10-12 torn fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/2 cup finely grated pecorino Romano, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for garnish
- 2 thinly sliced garlic
- olive oil for frying
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Use a mandolin to thinly slice the zucchini, but you can absolutely use a chef knife to do it. If you really like zucchini, feel free to slice 2 of them.
- Add enough oil to completely coat the bottom of a large non-stick skillet and heat it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add enough zucchini slices to fill the bottom of the pan but not too overlap. Fry for about 45-60 seconds per side or until they start to brown up.
- Transfer them to paper towels and repeat the process until all the zucchinis have been fried. You also may need to add more oil throughout the frying process.
- Once all the zucchini is fried and on paper towels, gently season them with salt and 6 to 8 of the of the torn basil leaves to perfume the zucchini as they sit.
- Now, add the spaghetti to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook according to the package.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the leftover frying oil to a large saucier pan or frying pan over low heat and cook the garlic just until lightly browned. Turn off the heat.
- Next, once the pasta is done, strain it and add it to the pan with the garlic and let it stand for 1 minute.
- Vigorously mix in the pecorino and parmigiano to help emulsify it. Then, add in 1 4 to 6 ounce ladle of the hot pasta water and continue to vigorously whisk until the sauce becomes creamy. You can add as much water as needed to make more sauce.
- Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, and fold in the butter until melted. Then, fold in the fried zucchini. Feel free to set a few to the side to use as garnish later.
- Serve the pasta with additional grated cheese, additional torn basil leaves and fried zucchini.
Spaghetti alla Nerano Recipe