Saturday, February 27, 2021

Fettuccini alla Nerano

Yes, we tried the latest food craze. Fettuccini alla Nerano. And yes it is as delicious as everyone has said.

Back in 2018, I made a recipe for Zucchini Sauce. It quickly became my go-to recipe. Suddenly there was Fettuccini alla Nerano. The differences... hmmm. The zucchini is fried and refrigerated overnight... The pasta alla Nerano used both provolone and Parmigiana. That's all. The recipe I used in 2018 was from Bon Appetit.

If you have not seen the Stanley Tucci show, Searching For Italy, please watch it. It is a love letter to all things Italian. 

So here is how I made Fettuccini alla Nerano. Last night I fried the thinly sliced zucchini in safflower oil. And that was not easy to find!!! I got the last bottle at the store. I put the fried zucchini in a paper towel-lined bowl and sprinkled them with salt. Into the fridge they went until tonight.

At the start of the frying.

The end of the frying.

Tonight I started the pot of water for the homemade fettuccini. In a saute pan I heated some olive oil and added the zucchini.

I tossed in some diced prosciutto because I had it in the fridge. I added a knob of butter and once the pasta was dropped in the water I added a bit of the pasta water. You want to get a sauce-like consistency.

I cooked the pasta until almost al dente and added it to the saute pan to finish cooking. Some more pasta water was added to maintain the sauce-like consistency and then I added grated provolone and parmigiana. I tossed in some chopped basil and that was it.

And yes it was delicious. It was simple ingredients lifted to a stellar level. It was just zucchini and cheese. I might heat up a little for a late-night snack...

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