Zucchini Pasta with Provolone

This delicious and easy zucchini pasta recipe with provolone perfectly incorporates veggies into a classic Italian dish.

The perfect summer night pasta when time is not on your side and you have an abundance of zucchini in your pantry. Pasta is the ultimate comfort food, and this recipe featuring lightly fried zucchini and lots of cheese is just what makes for home comfort food.

Zucchini is one of our favorites, and it is one of the most versatile vegetables, in my opinion.

And then there is cheese. A day without cheese for me is like a day without coffee, ice cream, or salad; you catch my drift.

Smoked provolone is one of my favorites. Not easy to find; thus, when the market has some, it comes home with me.

Put to good use with this recipe, the provolone adds some extra depth to the pasta. As it melts, it creates an excellent cream that envelops the pasta with many flavors.

While researching how best to use my two favorite ingredients, zucchini, and provolone, I found many versions of the recipe below.

This is my simplified version after a few trials of spaghetti all Nerano. The excellent base flavor is ever so present; however, I made it easier to prepare and added my touch.

Pasta alla Nerano is a dish from Naples, Campania, southern Italy, which was created around 1952 and called for straightforward ingredients: pasta, zucchini, and provolone cheese.

In this Article

The best part: 6 ingredients – 15 minutes of preparation.

I love the simplicity, and it is perfect for every work night dinner, last-minute gathering, or just because you are in the mood for pasta.

What is provolone cheese?

Provolone cheese, like mozzarella, is a pulled or stretched cut curd cheese with two varieties. Provolone dolce, or mild provolone, is aged for two to three months—semi-soft, mild, and smooth table cheese.

Piccante is aged for six to twelve months and has a more pungent flavor.

Made with buffalo or cow’s milk or a mixture of the two.

The term Provolone – meaning large provola – appeared around the 19th century when it started to be manufactured in the southern regions of Italy.

Other uses for your provolone cheese

Sometimes, purchasing a new cheese is always a bit of a dilemma if you do not have many recipes to enjoy it with. Below are some fun suggestions you can create in your kitchen.

• In the mood for cheese sandwiches? The melted provolone cheese is fantastic.

• Create delicious appetizer toasts by slicing some provolone cheese and baking it in a hot oven, or pm your grill until melted. Before serving, add some honey with a pinch of chopped parsley and serve as an appetizer.
• I love to make a provolone pasta bake when I have too much cheese left over. Create a bechamel cream and add your cheese to it to melt. Cook any of your favorite tubular pasta, such as penne, rigatoni, or any short, short chunky pasta, and add them to your sauce. Bake for 20 minutes, and voila, another great dinner for the family.

Cooking tips to make this wonderful recipe of zucchini provolone pasta

I suggest the tips below to help you make this dish on your first try.

• I recommend using fettuccine or linguine as they are more adequate for absorbing the sauce.
• Cook the pasta for two (2) minutes under the packaging cooking time for “al dente”. Worry not; the pasta will continue cooking with the cheese and the zucchini.
• Remove the pasta with kitchen tongs to save as much cooking water as possible.
• If using a colander, please do reserve some of the cooking water.
• Grate the cheese, making sure there are no lumps. You want the cheese to melt uniformly, but a lump will not melt that quickly.

I am confident you and your family will love this super easy and delicious dish of Zucchini Provolone Pasta.

How to create a creamy sauce for your zucchini pasta

This recipe is similar to Cacio e Pepe mainly due to the method in which it is made.

Both recipes have similarities in cooking methods, known as mantecare, to create the emulsification that is so enjoyed with this dish.

Remove the pan from the heat source before adding the cheese.

Once the cheese is added, toss to emulsify, as this will prevent the cheese from clumping.

Adding some of the cooled cooking pasta will also help to loosen the cheese. Too hot of water will clump your cheese.

What is the best substitute for provolone in a recipe?

Any good melting cheese such a mozzarella, Gouda, cheddar, fontina, and parmesan will work beautifully too. The melting factor is what you need to create the creamy sauce.

Storing and reheating

Store you leftover pasta in an airtight glass container for up to two days.

Bring back to room temperature. In a cast-iron skillet over low heat, add your pasta, a few tablespoons of water, add more cheese, and warm to desired warmth.