This pasta dish is an example of how little Italian towns and villages can have their own specialties, just like cities—where dishes speak not only to the traits of an area, but also to a very specific time and place. While the beaches are one thing that bring people to Nerano, a tiny fishing village built into the mountains on the Amalfi Coast, so does this pasta with fried zucchini.

All the locals know the story: The legendary dish was invented in 1952 by Maria Grazia, who owned a restaurant in Nerano that bears her name (and where two of her grandchildren, Lello and Andrea, still work to this day). So many have tried to recreate this seemingly humble dish of pasta and local summer zucchini that it has become known as “Spaghetti alla Nerano” to distinguish it from any other spaghetti with zucchini.

Let’s begin with the main ingredients: The zucchini are the Italian kind—very small, sweet, ribbed vegetables, pale green in color. The cheese should be Sorrento’s own Provolone del Monaco, a large, semi-aged, five-pound melon-shaped cheese. It may be hard to find outside of the region, so Parmesan or caciocavallo (or even better, a mixture of the two cheeses, which is said to be close to Maria Grazia’s original recipe) could stand in. And basil—a few, freshly torn leaves. Some use egg yolks to make a smooth, carbonara-esque sauce; some use mozzarella instead of provolone; and some add a small knob of cold butter. Nerano locals are quick to point out any unacceptable variations, but being that Maria Grazia’s original is a secret recipe that no one but the family knows, you will find many slightly different preparations. Indeed, this recipe here is not the original one.

Ingredients

• Vegetable/sunflower oil 
• 5 small zucchini, sliced into very thin rounds
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 11 ounces/400g spaghetti
• 3 oz/80g grated Provolone or Parmesan
• 1 handful basil leaves

Method

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the spaghetti.

In a wide skillet over medium-high heat, add the zucchini and cook until tender around 4 or 5 minutes and then drain in a separate bowl. 

Cook the spaghetti until al dente.

Add a ladle of the pasta water to a large sauce pan and add the zucchini and simmer. Add the butter and mix well and season with salt and pepper and add the torn basil.

Toss the spaghetti into the pan and mix well. Add the cheese and some of the pasta water and toss together to make a silky smooth sauce.

Buon appetito…