From Italy’s Amalfi Coast, pasta alla nerano features long, thin pasta tossed with a velvety sauce made with pureed zucchini . It’s an elegant yet easy dish that’s luxurious but not heavy. In this recipe from our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” we use a minimal amount of water to cook the pasta, then blend some of the starchy liquid with tender sautéed zucchini and golden garlic to create a creamy consistency without cream.
Cooking pasta in less water than typically called for concentrates the starches that leach out of the noodles . That super-starched liquid can be used to create silkier, creamier sauces without the need for added dairy. Look for zucchini that are medium in size, or that weigh about 8 ounces each, as larger zucchini can be too seedy.
Medium zucchini yield matchsticks of a good length for the dish. And be sure to seek out a chunk of pecorino and grate it yourself. The flavor will be fresher and fuller than cheese that’s purchased already grated.
If you own an immersion blender, it works well for making the zucchini-garlic puree; simply transfer the ingredients to a medium bowl and blend. When smooth, return the mixture to the pot. Cook and toss with the drained pasta, butter, pecorino, basil and additional pasta water until the mixture is creamy and the pasta is lightly sauced, adding more pasta water as needed if the mixture looks thick and dry.
Pasta with Pecorino-Zucchini Sauce and Basil Start.