After seeing Stanley Tucci’s zucchini pasta recipe on television, I knew I had to make this super simple but totally decadent pasta dish at home. Here’s how.
I may not be as talented an actor as Stanley Tucci, but I feel lucky as an Italian duck to have authentically eaten like him.
In This Post
Like many food lovers during the lockdown, I vicariously lived and ate through him in each and every episode of CNN’s Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. So before our recent trip to Italy’s Amalfi Coast, I made it a point to cook the zucchini with pasta recipe from Lo Scoglio in season one’s first episode before we left and then try as many versions when we were in Italy as I could find.
While they were all a bit different from one another, Tucci’s version of zucchini pasta, aka spaghetti alla nerro. is definitely the one I’m keeping.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Why deep fry? Because it gives the zucchini a deep, richly sweet flavor impossible to achieve by simply steaming it or quickly pan frying.
- Boil the pasta noodles until al dente, but save 1 cup of pasta water before draining. Pasta releases some of its gluten when boiled in water, making it a natural thickener for this sauce.
- Add a generous knob of butter for a more velvety sauce. While totally optional, a pat of butter or two makes everything better, including the texture of the pasta sauce.
What’s in This Pasta?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Pasta — Use a long pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine.
- Oil — Choose a high-smoke point oil, like sunflower oil, for frying the zucchini and olive oil for finishing the dish.
- Zucchini — Slice into thin rounds so they can blister and become golden in the oil.
- Parmesan cheese — Use an aged parmigiano reggiano, or try pecorino romano for a saltier bite.
- Butter — Creates a silky, rich sauce without having to add any cream.
- Fresh basil — The perfect finishing touch.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper — This is a super simple pasta, so season it well to bring out the delectable flavors going on.
How to Make Stanley Tucci’s Zucchini Pasta
- Slice the zucchini into thin coins. If you have a hand-held mandoline like this one, this is the time to use it. If not, use a sharp chef’s knife like this one to keep the zucchini thinly sliced.
- Fry the thinly cut zucchini in sunflower oil at 350°F in a heavy bottom pot. With its high smoke point and neutral flavor, sunflower oil is the optimal oil to use here. As pointed out in Stanley Tucci’s first episode, deep-frying the zucchini in batches until its golden brown gives it the best flavor, so use plenty of oil for the zucchini to freely float and sizzle.
- Transfer the zucchini to a plate or bowl topped with paper towels to absorb the excess oil, then refrigerate. Leaving the zucchini in the fridge helps it soften and concentrate in flavor. I did so for just 30-40 minutes, but Lo Scoglio’s chef recommends overnight.
- Warm the zucchini in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. This extra step takes the chill off the squash and the olive oil adds a lushness to the sauce.
- Add 2 ladles of the reserved pasta water to the zucchini mixture and noodles, remove from the heat and toss with the grated cheese. Mix it all together well, adding more water as needed to coat the noodles and become saucy.
- Add torn basil leaves and more Parmesan cheese. Serve this dish straight from the pan, or ladle into bowls with more parm and basil.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I made this exactly to the recipe, didn’t add anything or miss any steps and I must say it was absolutely fabulous, really amazing depth of flavour.
-Kate, FoodieCrush Reader
FAQs
You should be fine to swap out the zucchini with yellow squash or any other thin-skinned squash that’s similar to zucchini.
Yep, you sure do. You could prep it a different way, but then it wouldn’t be Stanley Tucci’s pasta recipe.
Once the pasta is cooked and tossed with the sauce, it’s best slurped up immediately. However, you can fry the zucchini and let it hang out in the fridge overnight before assembling the rest of the dish.
Storage Tips
This is one pasta that’s best eaten hot from the skillet, as the sauce tends to thicken as it sits in the fridge. If you wind up with leftovers, reheat gently over low heat and add a splash of water to loosen things up.
What to Serve with Zucchini Pasta
- The Simplest Arugula Salad
- Caesar Salad With Garlic Croutons
- Avocado and Tomato Salad
- Avocado Grapefruit and Fennel Salad
- Burrata Caprese Salad
- Italian House Salad
- Garlic Bread or Garlic Knots
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Stanley Tucci Zucchini Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- sunflower oil for frying
- 6 medium zucchini
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 16 ounces spaghetti (or linguine)
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom pot, bring ½ to 1 quart of sunflower oil to 350°F.
- Slice the zucchini into thin rounds. In batches, fry the zucchini in the hot oil until they turn blistered and golden, about 5-7 minutes per batch. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the zucchini to a bowl or plate lined with paper towels. Repeat until all of the zucchini is fried. Refrigerate the zucchini for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
- When ready to prepare the dish, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water to make the sauce.
- In a large frying pan over medium-high, add the olive oil and heat the rested zucchini with 2 ladles of the warm spaghetti cooking water, stirring well until saucy. Season with a few pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Drain the spaghetti and add to the pan with the zucchini, tossing well to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese then toss everything together well. Stir in the butter and more water as needed to enrich the sauce.
- Add more Parmesan and top with a fresh basil leaves before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
More Super Simple Pasta Recipes
- Pasta Puttanesca
- Cacio e Pepe
- Pasta Pomodoro
- Homemade Pesto Pasta
- One-Pot Ground Turkey and Spinach Pasta
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta
- Lemony Fettuccine Alfredo
We send good emails. Subscribe to FoodieCrush and have each post plus exclusive content only for our subscribers delivered straight to your e-mail box.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest for more FoodieCrush inspiration.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
Kate Smith
I made this exactly to the recipe, didn’t add anything or miss any steps and I must say it was absolutely fabulous, really amazing depth of flavour. It’s so easy to make. Leaving the zucchini overnight to develop is a must. I can’t praise this pasta dish enough and at £1.60 a serving we’re making this one a regular meal. Thank you for posting
That’s awesome to hear Kate! So glad you liked it and hope you’ll be making again! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Rebecca
Word to the wise: cut the zucchini thicker than you think and fry them for less time. Ours turned out tasting exactly like russet potato chips, which became the dominant flavor in the pasta. It was unexpected, unintended, and still tasty.
Gail
I’m printing this and I’m going to make it! I watched Stanley Tucci in Italy and loved it – Thank you for the easy to follow recipe.