Gluten free spaghetti with zucchini “alla Nerano” is a typical recipe of the Amalfi coast where I come from and it is one must do pasta in my Italian family when summer kicks in.
My aunt Rosanna masters this dish, I might say, to perfection.
I asked her for her no-longer-secret recipe and she was more than happy to share it with us 🙂
Start cutting the zucchini in thin slices, put them in a colander with a pinch of salt and let them rest for one hour.
In this way they will loose some of their water and it will be easier to fry them.
Take a large frying pan. Put extra virgin olive enough to cover the bottom of the pan abundantly.
Put the pan over medium heat. When the oil starts to get hot (BE CAREFUL – the oil must never get too hot that you can see smoke coming out from the pan – this is not a good sign as the oil properties get damaged) add the zucchini and turn the heat on high.
The zucchini have not to be all over the others when frying.
I started to fry one half of the zucchini and then I fried the second half using the same olive oil. It might require some extra time to do it but it is key to fry them properly.
If necessary, add some extra olive oil to help frying the second half.
Stir the zucchini gently from time to time. Turn them upside-down to have them fried on both sides. They are perfectly fried when they turn golden brown. Please have a look at my photo – I think it can give you an idea of the colour they have to become in order to be ready.
Once you are done, put the zucchini aside.
Throw away half of the extra virgin olive oil and keep the rest in the pan. We will use it to “mantecare” a.k.a. stir the pasta with the cheese later.
Let’s cook the spaghetti now.
Take a large pot. Put water. When the water starts to boil, add the spaghetti first and then a pinch of salt.
What it is a bit tricky about this recipe is that the spaghetti have to start the cooking in the pot and finish the cooking in the pan.
Depending on the pasta brand you are using, after 3rd / 4th minute start tasting it.
When the pasta is about to be “al dente”, save 200 gr of the cooking water from the pot and drip the spaghetti.
Put the frying pan back on high heat, add the spaghetti and half of the zucchini. Add some of the cooking water and start stirring gently.
The objective now is to mush the zucchini while cooking the spaghetti and create a nice cream that will stick beautifully to the pasta.
This time I did not use all the cooking water. My spaghetti got “al dente” quite quickly but, as I said it already in other pasta recipes, it depends on the gluten free brand that you are using – each one has a different cooking time. When it comes down to pasta, my personal advice is that you taste it frequently until it turns exactly the way you like it.
Once the spaghetti are ready turn off the eat, add the grated parmigiano reggiano and the pecorino. Continue to stir gently. Add as much basil as it pleases you.
Hope my aunt Rosanna will be proud of me today 😉
I love this gluten free pasta, it’s so yummy! Buon appetito!
