Nerano is not only the typical spaghetti dish, but also the eponymous suburb located in the seaside hamlet of Massa Lubrense, where the recipe become famous throughout Italy.

The main feature of this dish is the combination of the delicate flavor of the zucchini and the stronger one of provolone del Monaco. The spaghetti, in fact, is wrapped in a flavorful cream, and the secret to achieving this is to use the cooking water during the mantling and add the Provolone del Monaco DOP only at the end and with the heat off, to let it slowly melt at a low temperature. Be sure to use only quality ingredients: in addition to provolone cheese, zucchini should be fresh and thinly sliced and fried in theextra virgin olive oil.

Recipe origins and trivia

Provolone cheese is so called because the shepherds and the cheesemakers who disembarked at dawn at the port of Naples with the cheeses from various places in the Sorrento Peninsula, they used to wear a cloak which was reminiscent of the cassock of a monk; from then on, people at the market who saw them carrying provolone began to call them monks: hence the monk's provolone.

There are several theories behind the birth of the dish: according to some, the idea came from a local small restaurant that, in order to enrich a poor pasta dish seasoned only with zucchini, decided to flavor it with different cheeses; according to others, however, the original version came to life in the 1950s thanks to a request from the so-called "Pupetto", that is, the Prince of Sirignano Francesco Caravita, who, returning from Capri, wanted to satisfy a late-night lust in the Maria Grazia Restaurant Of Nerano.

The recipe

Try preparing them at home-the flavors will immediately transport you along the Sorrento coast.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 320 g spaghetti;

• 700 g zucchini;

• 200 g of provolone del Monaco cheese;

• 2 cloves of garlic;

• Extra virgin oil to taste for seasoning and frying;

• basil;

• salt;

• pepper.

The first step is to wash the zucchini and cut them into thin rounds, about 2 mm, then dry them and fry them in a pan with plenty of extra virgin oil for about 2 minutes. Be sure that the oil should already be hot when you dip them. Once golden brown remove them, let the oil absorb on paper and salt. Meanwhile, grate the provolone finely and set aside.

While you wait for the pasta water to start boiling add salt and pepper and then in a frying pan add a generous drizzle of oil and the peeled and crushed garlic cloves, sauté 1 minute, then add the fried zucchini and a handful of basil; let everything cook together over a gentle flame for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti half the time indicated on the package and drain directly into the zucchini pan, adding 1 ladle of the pasta cooking water.

Then continue to stir-fry the spaghetti over medium heat until it is creamy.

When cooked, turn off the heat, stir for 15 to 20 seconds then add grated provolone cheese and stir away from the stove (add 1 more tablespoon of cooking water if you see they are too dry).

Once they reach the perfect consistency, they are ready to be served!