That Zucchini Spaghetti Stanley Tucci Loves (Spaghetti alla Nerano)

I get a fair number of video ideas watching food travel television shows. During these productions, it's not uncommon for the host to heap praise on the local offerings, but Stanley Tucci (in his new show, Searching for Italy) took this to another level, calling the dish, "life changing," "unbelievable," and "one of the best things I've ever eaten." I love a good vegetable-based pasta, so I decided to give this a try. But there was one small problem: It requires the zucchini to be deep-fried first.

I'm certainly not against deep-frying and have posted many videos featuring the technique, but if there's a way to make a recipe without forcing someone to set up a fry station in there kitchen, I always try to figure out what that is. This time, there was no way. I tried to broil, bake, and pan fry, but none of the methods worked as well as the "authentic" cooking method shown in the show, which was to fry the sliced zucchini in sunflower oil until golden brown.

Please trust me when I tell you that the results are well worth the effort. This really was a truly amazing spaghetti, and while I've sauced pasta with zucchini before, I'd never done so by frying it first, and I was sort of shocked what a difference it makes. So, whether you need to go to the market to buy your summer squash or you're a gardener and have way more than you can ever use, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

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