There are meals you remember, and then there are meals that rearrange your idea of what a meal can be. Mine happened on a pebbled beach on the Sorrento Peninsula, somewhere between a swim and applying more sunscreen, and I have been thinking about it ever since.

Let me back up.

A Captain, a Cove, and a Recommendation

We had booked a private boat for the day via Mamma Mia Sorrento, one of those decisions you make while planning a trip and then quietly worry about the cost later. It turned out to be the best money we spent in Italy. We spent the morning drifting along the coast, ducking into caves, swimming clear-ish water, and generally doing very little with great enthusiasm.

Around midday, our captain Antonio asked if we were hungry. Then he said the thing that every traveler hopes to hear from a local: *I know a place.*

The place was Nerano, a fishing village tucked into the Massa Lubrense coastline, and specifically the beach at Marina del Cantone. The restaurant was Maria Grazia. And the dish, he told us with the seriousness of a man discussing family history, was spaghetti alla Nerano.

The Story Behind the Dish

Here is what makes this pasta more than pasta.

According to the website, the restaurant has been on that beach since 1901, when a woman named Maria Grazia started cooking for the fishermen who pulled their boats onto the pebbles at Marina del Cantone. Simple food, nothing unusual about it. Bread, fish…whatever the sea and the garden offered.

The dish itself came later, in 1952, and the credit goes to her daughter, Donna Rosa, who by then was running the kitchen. The story goes that she created it alongside a friend and regular guest, Prince Francesco Caravita di Sirignano, known to everyone as Pupetto. What they came up with used whatever was abundant that summer, which mostly meant zucchini.

Seventy years later, the restaurant still serves this amazing dish. People take boats there specifically to eat it. We were among them, and we had no idea we were joining a very long line.

What Is Actually In It

The ingredient list is short, which is the whole point.

– Spaghetti, ideally the thicker spaghettoni

– Zucchini, sliced thin and fried in oil until golden and sweet

– Provolone del Monaco, an aged, buttery cheese with a little sharpness at the finish

– Fresh basil

– Olive oil, garlic, black pepper, and a great deal of starchy pasta water

That’s it. Surprisingly, no cream ever. The silkiness comes entirely from the cheese and the zucchini melting into the starchy water.

Bistro Chic

Message History

Delivery option(s)