There is a dish on the Sorrento peninsula that tastes like far more than its ingredients: spaghetti, zucchini, cheese and basil. It is called spaghetti alla Nerano, after the hamlet of Nerano in Massa Lubrense where it was born in the middle of the last century, and it is the reason people take a boat or a winding road to a pebble beach at lunchtime.
Why it works
The zucchini are sliced thin, fried in olive oil until golden and then left to rest for an hour or more, which concentrates their flavour. The spaghetti, ideally from Gragnano, whose pasta is protected as an IGP, is cooked until just short of done and finished in the pan with the zucchini, a ladle of its cooking water and a generous handful of Provolone del Monaco. The cheese melts into a glossy sauce without any cream, and the basil goes in at the end. It is rich, but never heavy.
Where to eat it
Marina del Cantone, the small bay below Nerano, is lined with beach restaurants where you can eat with your feet nearly in the water. In summer, book ahead and ask for the table that gets shade at one o’clock. You can arrive by road through Massa Lubrense, or by boat in season from the coast. The beach is pebbles, the water is clear and shallow, and it is far calmer than Positano.
What to drink with it
A chilled white from the local hills works well: Falanghina, or a white from the Penisola Sorrentina DOC. Or try the sparkling red wine of Gragnano, gently fizzy, dry and served cold, which is exactly as strange and as good as it sounds.
Cook it at home
Serves four. This is the version we cook at the Getaway office on Fridays.
- 400 g spaghetti, ideally from Gragnano
- 1 kg small, firm zucchini
- 150 g Provolone del Monaco, or an aged provolone, grated
- A handful of basil leaves, olive oil for frying and salt
- Slice the zucchini into thin rounds and salt lightly. Fry in batches in olive oil over medium heat until golden, drain on paper and rest for at least an hour.
- Cook the spaghetti in salted water for two minutes less than the packet says. Keep a mug of the cooking water.
- Toss the pasta in a wide pan with most of the zucchini, a ladle of the water and half the cheese. Add more water and the rest of the cheese until the sauce is glossy.
- Finish with torn basil and the remaining zucchini. Serve at once, with the pan still warm.
Where to stay
Sleeping in Massa Lubrense or Sant’Agnello gives you the hills and the coast without the Sorrento crowds. Browse stays in Massa Lubrense, or look at the cooking and food collection if you would like to learn the dish in a kitchen with a host.
