Fried Zucchini and Basil Casarecce
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
1 lb
dried casarecce or spaghetti
1 ½ lb
zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
1 ¼ c
extra-virgin olive oil
1
shallot, finely diced
2
garlic cloves, minced
4 tbsp
unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp
lemon zest
⅔ c
basil leaves, coarsely chopped, plus leaves for garnishing
1 ½ c
finely grated Piave Vecchio or Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
½ tsp
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A few zucchini blossoms, sliced (optional)
Fried Zucchini and Basil Casarecce
Here’s my riff on an Amalfi Coast classic: Spaghetti alla Nerano. I like to grow zucchini in my garden because they aren’t fussy and will produce tender squash and beautiful flowers for me to cook with all summer long. Instead of spaghetti, I use casarecce, a sturdy, short, scroll-like pasta that captures sauce and can withstand the vigorous stirring that’s needed to create the cheesy, creamy coating. I also use Paive Vecchio, a young, hard cheese that’s not quite as salty as Parmigiano–Reggiano.
4 servings
- Pat the zucchini rounds with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Line a plate with paper towels.
- In a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 cup of the olive oil until it’s nice and hot but not smoking. Working in batches, add the zucchini and fry until golden and crisp on both sides, 7 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer the fried zucchini to the prepared plate. Keep warm.
- Meanwhile, in another small frying pan over low heat, combine the remaining 1⁄4 cup olive oil and shallot and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Remove from the heat.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the casarecce and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve about 11⁄2 cups of the pasta water, then drain the pasta in a colander and return it to the warm pot.
- Off the heat, add the butter to the pasta, then stir in the shallot- garlic mixture, fried zucchini, lemon zest, and basil. Now gradually alternate between adding a little cheese followed by a little pasta water, while constantly stirring quite vigorously. (If you dump the cheese in all at once, you could end up with a clump.) Continue to add the cheese and as much pasta water as needed to create a creamy emulsion. Some of the zucchini will break up, but that’s what we want. Add a little more pasta water, if needed, to make it glossy, or a splash of the zucchini-infused oil. Season with the salt and pepper.
- Serve the pasta topped with a few basil leaves and zucchini blossoms, if desired.
