Cucuzza squash grow beautifully on long vines around homes in Sicily – serving as half a landscape plant and half an easy garden plant. They are beloved in Italy. The word “cucuzza” is even an Italian nickname for “girlfriend”. There is even a song about the squash.
Our interest? It is great with pasta.
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Italian Cuisine
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While cucuzza can be incredibly long (longer than a meter), you are likely to find a much shorter variety in your market. As my favorite produce supplier said, “They may grow nice and long around a home in Sicily, but those long ones are a real pain in the field.” Both work, but I have found the longer ones taste better.
In the Style of Spaghetti alla Nerano
With pasta, you can use cucuzza any way you would use zucchini. But my approach to Spaghetti Cucuzza is in the style of spaghetti alla Nerano featured in Stanley Tucci’s In Search of Italy series. Cut the cucuzza into thin slices and lightly fry them in the same manner. A bit of pepper and a bit of pecorino cheese finish this summer dish.
Final Touches
Use of Garlic
Italian cooking does not use the amount of garlic we are often led to believe. In this dish, the garlic is browned in the oil and removed before frying the cucuzza – producing garlic-infused oil for frying.
Frying the Cucuzza
There are different opinions on the details of frying the zucchini for spaghetti alla Nerano. Since the cucuzza is more flavorful than zucchini, details are less important. That said, plenty of olive oil is needed.
Most believe the zucchini should be cooked ahead of time. In the Tucci episode, it is cooked a day ahead. While cooking that far ahead is unnecessary for this dish, you may find frying the cucuzza a few hours ahead of time to be very convenient. Remember to drain the oil from the cucuzza well and reserve some of the garlic-infused frying oil for the final step.
Pecorino Cheese
I find pecorino cheese works for this dish. However, feel free to use Parmigiano if that is what you have.
Pancetta
The pancetta presented in the recipe is optional if you prefer a vegetarian dish.
Pecorino Cheese
I find Pecorino Cheese perfect for this dish. However, feel free to use Parmigiano if that is what you have. Regardless use a good bit along with a good bit of pepper. The dish needs the accents.
Pancetta
My final addition to the dish is Pancetta. This is optional if you prefer a vegetarian dish.
Spaghetti Cucuzza
Cucuzza: like zucchini but better in every way.
Ingredients
- 400g of rough durum wheat spaghetti
- 1/2 long Sicilian cucuzza (or 1 medium cucuzza)
- 2 cloves of Italian garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Ample chili or black pepper
- Chopped parsley
- Sea salt
- Ample Grated Pecorino Cheese
- Pancetta, chopped (optional, skip and it is vegetarian)
Instructions
- Wash and cut the squash into rounds, about 1/8 inch (3mm thick), without removing the peel. If using the thicker variety, you will need to quarter the slices.
- Heat plenty of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan (fill bottom plus a bit more), cook the whole garlic until it has browned, and remove it and discard.
- Add the slices and let them color on both sides -- roughly 4-5 minutes per side. Once light golden brown, place to rest on a sheet of paper. Pour off much of the frying oil. Salt the squash while it cools. (This step may be done several hours in advance.)
- Cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water, drain the pasta. Reserve a small amount of the pasta water. Heat the oil and brown the pancetta. Sauté the pasta in the pan with the reserved squash cooking oil, and browned pancetta. Add black pepper or chili pepper, a sprinkling of chopped parsley, and 3/4 of the fried squash, sauté everything with a touch of the pasta water to create a light sauce.
- Serve hot, decorating with the remaining slices on top along with plenty of grated pecorino,
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 394Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 38mgSodium 751mgCarbohydrates 40gFiber 5gSugar 3gProtein 18g
Calculated Nutrition is estimated.
