Pasta alla Nerano (Italian Fried Zucchini)

Spaghetti alla Nerano was invented in the fifties by a woman called Maria Grazia in a restaurant bearing her name in Nerano a small town on the Sorrento peninsula. Apparently the restaurant still exists and is being run by her grandchildren. An excellent example of a simple but exquisite vegetable pasta recipe that comes from Campania and includes ingredients typical of Neapolitan cuisine.

Pasta:
1 lb spaghetti (450 g)
3 Tbsp. kosher salt

Nerano Sauce:
24 oz zucchini (700 g)
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled
7 oz provolone cheese, preferably provolone del Monaco, grated (200 g)
1 handful fresh basil leaves
kosher or sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked

Garnish:
freshly torn basil leaves
grated provolone

Wash and cut the zucchini into thin slices, then fry them in extra virgin olive oil until browned.

Once fried, put the slices on paper towels to remove the excess oil.

Meanwhile boil the pasta in plenty of lightly salted water until al dente and drain, keeping aside a glass of the cooking water.

Heat some more olive oil in a frying pan with the 2 cloves garlic and cook taking care not to burn the garlic.

Dip the zucchini slices in boiling water for 4 or 5 seconds, then cream 1/3 of them either by mashing through a sieve or briefly liquidizing in a food blender.

Remove the garlic and add the cream of zucchini and the zucchini slices to the pan and then stir in the cooked spaghetti. If the dish appears too dry add some of the saved pasta cooking water. Continue to stir over a low heat for a minute.

Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the grated provolone and season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve decorated with the basil leaves cut into pieces and some extra grated provolone to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Cook's Notes:

• Spaghetti is the traditional pasta for this recipe but other long pasta such as linguine work well too.
• Although the original recipe calls for Provolone del Monaco, this cheese isn't available everywhere, However there are other spicy provolone cheeses produced in Northern Italy and even in America which can be used instead.