Farfalle Nerano is my take on the ever-popular Spaghetti Nerano, which has gained so much acclaim because of actor Stanley Tucci. I chose to make my version with farfalle because its ridges and crevices make it ideal for capturing the sauce. Other significant differences from the original recipe include a bit of lemon juice for brightness, a pinch of dried chili peppers for zest, as well as differences in the cooking method.

Other of my vegetable pasta dishes: Tomatoes, Eggplant and Basil Pasta; Pasta With Lentil Sauce.

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It’s best to use small zucchini since they are sweeter and have fewer seeds. In this case, I found miniature zucchini at my farmers’ market, so I needed to double the quantity.

Choose small zucchini.

Trim off both ends of the zucchini. Cut them into thin slices, and dry on paper towels so they brown better.

Slice and dry the zucchini.

Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and heat the oil to medium. Deep frying the zucchini is more traditional, but I find this unnecessary. Add the dried zucchini slices in one layer, frying until golden on one side, then flipping to brown the other side.

Fry the zucchini.

Remove the slices with a slotted spatula onto paper towels to drain. Lightly salt and pepper the slices. If all the slices don’t fit in one layer in your skillet, fry them in batches. Many recipes recommend refrigerating the fried zucchini with basil leaves for a day. I skipped this step, though it’s a good way to do some of the cooking ahead.

Mince the garlic cloves. Using the same skillet and the olive oil that remains in the pan, cook the minced garlic and chili peppers on very low heat, until the garlic is fragrant, but not the least brown.

Meanwhile, bring a large kettle of salted water to boil. Add the farfalle, and cook one minute short of the recommended time for al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, transfer 1⁄4 of the fried zucchini slices to the pan with the garlic. Using either a potato masher or the back of spoon, mash the zucchini into the hot garlic over low heat.

Mash the zucchini.

You will not be able to get the squash completely mashed. This step intensifies the zucchini flavor and helps produce a creamier sauce. Stir in the lemon juice. Tear the basil leaves, and stir them into the mashed zucchini. 

When the pasta is done, reserve at least one cup of the water before draining the pasta.

Add the remaining zucchini slices to the pan, along with the drained farfalle still over low heat. Moisten it with a bit of pasta water. Turn off the heat.

The usual cheese for pasta Nerano is Provolone del Monaco, which is unfortunately very difficult to find outside Italy. I use a mixture of Parmigiano and Auricchio Provolone. Do not use American-style fresh provolone. If you can’t find Auricchio Provolone substitute Pecorino Romano.

As soon as you have added the zucchini slices and farfalle to the pan, begin stirring in the grated cheeses and enough extra pasta water until you’ve  created an almost creamy sauce.  Taste the pasta for salt and pepper.

Serve the Farfalle Nerano in bowls, passing around extra grated cheese. Serves 2 or 3.

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