When Stanley Tucci says he’s obsessed with a pasta dish, we all listen. If anyone knows pasta, it’s that guy, confirmed by the fact we have now watched him eat his way across Italy on many occasions. So when he declared spaghetti alla Nerano the ultimate pasta in his CNN original series “Searching For Italy” (a clip of which was posted on Facebook), our ears pricked up. For an obsession-worthy dish, it sounds quite basic, comprised of pasta, zucchini, and cheese. But anyone who really knows Italian flavors knows that’s exactly the sort of dish they excel with.
As the name would suggest, this dish comes from the coastal village of Nerano on the stunning Amalfi Coast, and it’s just as gorgeous as its birthplace. For this dish, zucchini is thinly sliced and then fried. The vegetable crisps up beautifully when fried, which is why it’s one of the best veggies to turn into crispy, golden fries. In this recipe, the golden zucchini slices take center stage. The dish is then finished with a mix of Parmesan and provolone del Monaco, which is a local sharp and melty cheese, and the intensity of the cheese balances out the mild zucchini flavors perfectly.
Like many Italian dishes, it’s creamy without the involvement of any cream. It’s simple, but it’s got so many layers, and it’s also easy to mess up if you’re not paying attention. So, see Chowhound’s tips for cooking the best spaghetti before attempting it yourself.
A dish that feels like summer in a bowl
One of the reasons this dish just gets it so right is it has an unbelievably “summery” flavor profile, reminiscent of a true Italian summer. If you’ve never tried it yourself, the dish tastes salty yet floral; it makes you feel like you’re at the coast in Italy with salt in the air and warmth on your skin. The zucchini itself almost takes on a bit of caramelization when fried, which, when paired with an al dente spaghetti and a cheesy sauce blend, is pretty perfect. And it’s so well summer-suited because it’s light and satisfying without weighing you down, the kind of dish you crave after a day of swimming in the ocean. Honestly, it’s no wonder Stanley Tucci loves it so much.
Spaghetti alla Nerano is also great because it doesn’t try too hard, which is the beauty of so much of Italian cuisine. There is no pancetta or seafood; it’s a simple celebration of locally grown summer produce. It’s the same philosophy behind Tucci’s favorite Italian-style toastie, which proves that simple can be indulgent. And because it doesn’t rely on any specialty or hard-to-find ingredients, you can actually recreate it yourself with pretty good success if you know how. The local cheese, provolone del Monaco, could be swapped out for another sharp cheese, such as provolone or pecorino, and after that, you only need a few other basic ingredients to pull this off.
