Simple pleasures of summer
ISTANBUL
Simplicity is sometimes the key to great food. Especially so in summer when all the vegetables and fruits are at their peak. A sun-kissed tomato can be more than enough for a fantastic pasta sauce, or it is pure perfection on its own with a sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of good olive oil. This is especially true for Mediterranean food when the summer heat rises, and one tends to opt for simpler, straight forward, no-fuss recipes. Afterall, every single ingredient in the summer market is bursting with flavor, in a flash of seconds one can get great food on the table.
Summer is all about idle pleasure. Strolling along the coastline munching a freshly boiled or grilled corn-on-the-cob brings back childhood memories. A slice of freshness usually comes in the form of a watermelon on Italian streets. When I went to Rome to study back in the 1980’s, I was surprised to see street vendors yelling “cocomero,” watermelon in local language, sold in big slices to devour on the spot. Not that I was seeing watermelon for the first time, but for me, it belonged to the family table. The huge watermelon had a manly stand, it was usually selected by the father, carried home and usually cut on a big tray by a male member of the family with a scarily big knife as if like sacrifice. Then all members of the family would grab their forks and dig into the juicy chunks. Eating in the street with juices dripping from your chin was messy, I could not strip the watermelon from the familial fun it signified to me. But I’m sure an Italian would also be surprised to see cucumbers as a popular summer street food here in Türkiye. Even the alluring fresh aroma of the cucumber brings a summer breeze as you wait for the vendor to peel and quarter the cucumber by super swift moves, salt it liberally and hand it to you in a piece of paper. Pure bliss in the summer heat!
Lately, I’ve begun to think that the simpler the food, the better it tastes. There is a boom in Italian restaurants in Istanbul and chic summer resorts in Bodrum and similar. Almost always they are inclined to be showy, featuring expensive ingredients on their plates. Of course, it is obvious that one can charge exorbitant prices for a few forkfuls of pasta if it is topped with caviar or truffles. But come on, which Italian in its sane mind would have such heavily decorated spaghetti in the heat of July or August? Unless it is the elusive summer truffle Tuber aestivum of course, which is not the case in most of the ritzy venues. However, the other day I had a wonderful plate of pasta at Terrazza Italia, reminding me of the virtues of a good pasta dish when it is kept simple: Spaghetti alla Nerano.
Spaghetti alla Nerano is made with zucchini, perhaps the humblest of all summer vegetables, but it turns into a divine dish when cooked in this way. I’ve got all the tips from Chef Claudio Chinali. First, you slice zucchini very thinly and fry them in extra virgin olive oil until they’re golden and soft. Then, you let them rest for a while. Some people even leave them overnight, so that they get even more flavor. Then you cook the spaghetti made with pure semolina until it’s still a bit firm, then mix it in a pan with the zucchini, some fresh basil and a bit of the pasta cooking water. The most important step comes at the end: When the heat is off, you slowly add a mix of Provolone del Monaco and Parmesan cheese. You keep adding more pasta water while constantly stirring, and the cheese melts and creates a creamy, rich sauce, all without any cream. The result is a smooth, cheesy pasta full of the fresh flavor of zucchini. Simple yet complex, the dish shows that with good command of technique and understanding of flavor, one can create great dishes with usual ingredients at home.
Chef Chinali speaks fondly of this dish which has such a special place in his life:
“Spaghetti alla Nerano is not just an iconic dish from the Amalfi Coast — for me, it carries a deeply personal meaning. When I first started this career, my very first contract was at La Taverna del Capitano, a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Nerano. It was a beautiful opportunity: Close to home, with my family and my girlfriend. But the whole experience turned out to be a tough one for me, I was exhausted and didn’t feel right. Still, from that experience I learned one of the most important lessons: Even from negative moments, if you have real mentors like Alfonso Caputo, something always stays with you. This pasta, simple in ingredients but complex in technique, is the symbol of that time. It represents a difficult beginning that taught me something valuable. That’s why it stays with me.”
Summer is all about simple pleasures. It evokes memories of earlier summers in past times. Pure pleasure can come from a corn-on-the-cob, a slice of melon, peeled salted cucumbers or a simple tomato salad. The secret to a memorable dish seldom depends on splashy showy expensive ingredients, but a humble zucchini can suffice for a good plate, if made with affection and care. It stays with you!
