Taste: My Life through Food(56)

The kitchen at Lo Scoglio is sizable and needs to be in order to turn out the volume of extraordinary meals they cook on any given day. As we entered, a chef was indeed cooking the zucchine. Antonia explained to me that the smaller the zucchine, the better, and that a significant number of them must be used in every dish. (If you have ever cooked zucchine, you will know that the larger they are, the more water they contain and the less flavorsome they are.) Many recipes for spaghetti con zucchine alla Nerano will use garlic as well, or even just flavor the oil with garlic with which the pasta is tossed. But at Lo Scoglio, as Antonia said, no garlic is used at all. (My guilt for not believing her is still palpable as I write this.) The zucchine are fried in a large amount of sunflower oil, which causes them to actually soak up less of the oil than if they were cooked in less oil, if that makes any sense (meaning both my sentence and the concept). They are then left to drain on paper towels, salted, and tossed gently with chopped fresh basil. When the pasta is ready, the zucchine are put into a pan with olive oil and tossed together with the pasta, basil, some of the pasta water, salt, pepper, and Parmigiano. (I have read that provolone del Monaco cheese can also be used, but I have never tried it this way, though hopefully, if I ever finish writing this book, I will.) Antonia told me that they also make the zucchine in big batches, add chopped basil and salt, and store it in the fridge overnight, allowing the flavors to amalgamate. The next day the mixture is brought to room temperature and used as needed.

Having ocular evidence that her words were true, I thanked Antonia for her hospitality and vowed I would return, a prospect that I am sure caused her some concern. And as a matter of fact (lucky woman), I am returning to Lo Scoglio in two months’ time. It is my intention to stay in one of their rooms, eat spaghetti con zucchine alla Nerano for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and not once raise a dubious eyebrow or question a single word spoken by the establishment’s noble proprietress.I

Following is the recipe for spaghetti con zucchine alla Nerano. Since we introduced it to the kids, immediately upon our return from that trip to the Amalfi coast, it has become one of their favorites. It’s also a wonderful dish to make for a family with different dietary desires because it is completely vegetarian but its depth of flavor will surprise and satisfy most carnivores. Although the process of cooking a huge amount of zucchine can be a bit slow going, it’s worth it. Actually, it’s best to make even more zucchine than the recipe calls for the night before and store it in the fridge. This makes the task of putting the dish together the next day a very easy one and allows you to have extra zucchine to use in the coming days, either in a frittata, as an addition to rice or polenta, or just as a side dish.

The simple but poignant spaghetti con zucchine alla Nerano, born from a quartet of oil, basil, cheese, and humble squash, points once again to the Italian ability to discover riches where others might find very little.





Spaghetti con Zucchine alla Nerano


— SERVES 4 —

About ? quart sunflower oil or vegetable oil, or, if you choose, olive oil

8 to 10 small zucchine

1 ? cups chopped fresh basil

Sea salt to taste

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound spaghetti

3 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano



Put the sunflower oil in a large pot and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat.

Slice the zucchine into thin rounds and fry in the oil until it is golden brown. Remove and set aside on paper towels.

Sprinkle with the basil and the salt to taste.

Transfer to a bowl and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Boil the pasta until al dente and strain, reserving about 2 cups of the pasta water.

Place the cooked pasta in a large pan or pot over low heat along with the zucchine mixture and combine gently. Add the pasta water, a little at a time, to create a creamy texture. You may not use all of the pasta water. Now add some of the Parmigiano to the mixture and continue to combine by stirring gently and tossing. When the mixture has a slight creaminess, remove from the stove and serve immediately.



Note: The zucchine mixture can be refrigerated for about 5 days for use at a later date. Best to bring it to room temperature before using.




I?I have just recently returned from Lo Scoglio, where I watched Antonia’s brother Tomasso make this dish. On the table were all the ingredients as I described above, plus… one other. A small dollop of butter! I KNEW IT! PS: Antonia and I still remain friendly, but I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her. I’m kidding. I would do anything for her and her family. Always and ever.





19


The sense of freedom that sailing the Amalfi coast engendered is in stark juxtaposition to the restrictive lifestyle that March 2020 brought upon us all, also known as the first lockdown. (The one that we thought was going to be the only lockdown.) I wrote this piece during that time. It chronicles a day in our lives and the events of that day, which then just basically repeated themselves for months.

We were in London: my wife, Felicity, and I were sequestered there with our two small children, a boy, five, and a girl, two; my three older children, a girl, eighteen, and boy/girl twins, twenty; and a girlfriend of theirs from university who was unable to get to her parents overseas.

Cramming all of these people with differing personalities, ages, needs, wants, etc. in a house for six weeks created for an interesting dynamic. For the most part things went very well, meaning no one murdered anyone.