Pasta alla Nerano

Ingredients

• 14 ozspaghetti
• 1 1/2 lbzucchini, about 4, sliced into thin coins
• 5/8 cupolive oil, for shallow frying
• 4 1/4 ozparmesan, finely grated
• 1/2 ozfresh basil, leaves picked
• 1 tbspsea salt, most of it for the pasta water

Method

1. 1

   Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over a medium-high heat. Fry the zucchini coins in batches, without crowding them, until they are deep golden on both sides — 4 to 5 minutes a batch. Lift them onto a plate and salt them lightly as they come out.

2. 2

   Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, salt it well and cook the spaghetti for one minute less than the package says. Save two mugs of the cooking water before draining.

3. 3

   Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the frying oil. Return half the zucchini to the pan with a big splash of pasta water and mash them roughly with a fork over a low heat until they slump into a rough green sauce.

4. 4

   Take the pan off the heat, add the drained spaghetti, the rest of the zucchini and the parmesan, and toss hard, adding pasta water a splash at a time until it turns creamy and glossy. Tear in the basil and serve straight away.