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Scarpaccia is an Italian zucchini tart full of fantastic flavor!
Every Italian family (and every non-Italian family for that matter!) needs a good Scarpaccia in their recipe collection. Scarpaccia is a delicious zucchini tart or flatbread with such fantastic flavors – we would eat this dish every week if we could!
Scarpaccia is a dish that originates from the Tuscan coastal areas around Viagreggio, an Italian city that Jack and I visited on our honeymoon. The name is loosely translated as meaning ‘bad shoe’ and some sources say this dish got its name because it bakes up as thin as the sole of a bad shoe! Other sources describe a ‘bad shoe’ as one that has been worn by many family members, and scarpaccia is a tart that you can put anything into – like a bad shoe.
Whichever definition you prefer, scarpaccia was traditionally baked during the zucchini season by retired sailors using the vegetables from their garden. Scarpaccia traditionally includes zucchini flowers – however most people don’t have access to that ingredient year-round, so we made ours with thinly sliced zucchini. (If you are able to find zucchini flowers, by all means add it – and just cut back a bit on the amount of sliced zucchini called for in this recipe.)
Scarpaccia can be made sweet or savory, thin or thick, crisp or soft – as long as the common ingredients of zucchini and flour are used. Our version – inspired by both Jack’s own family recipe, as well as a recipe we brought home from our honeymoon – has a touch of sweetness along with wonderful savory flavors from sundried tomatoes, basil and thyme and Parmesan cheese. It also has a bit of texture thanks to adding corn meal as well as the addition of pine nuts to the batter.
Served warm out of the oven with a side salad, this scarpaccia makes a truly wonderful lunch or dinner. Enjoy!
This post was originally published in May 2014.
You may enjoy these other Zucchini recipes:
- Best Zucchini Bread Ever
- Baked Zucchini Fries
- 30+ Recipes for Your Garden Zucchini
- Zucchini and Eggs (Cocozelle)
- Italian Zucchini Stew
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Scarpaccia
Ingredients
- 2 pounds zucchini
- 1 red onion (about 1/2 pound)
- 2 cups tightly packed baby spinach
- 1 8.5–ounce jar sundried tomatoes in oil
- 1 cup pine nuts
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, plus one teaspoon for garnish
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups corn meal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Approximately 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (or enough to add to the oil drained from jar of sundried tomatoes to equal 1 full cup), plus more for drizzling
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a 12X16 inch sheet pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
- Slice zucchini into very thin slices and place in a large bowl. Slice red onion into very thin slices and add to zucchini. Also add baby spinach to bowl.
- Drain oil from sundried tomatoes into a cup measure and set oil aside. Cut tomatoes into quarters and add to bowl with other vegetables.
- Add pine nuts, basil, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, salt and pepper to the large bowl with vegetables and toss all ingredients together.
- In a separate smaller bowl mix flour, corn meal and baking powder. Add this to the large bowl and toss again to mix the ingredients.
- In that same smaller bowl, beat eggs and sugar and add to the large bowl, mixing into ingredients.
- Take the reserved cup measure with the oil drained from the tomatoes and add enough olive oil to fill one cup. Add to the large bowl, mixing to combine.
- Finally, slowly mix in the water to the large bowl, only using enough to make a thin batter. You may not need all of the water.
- Pour batter into the prepared sheet pan, drizzle the top with olive oil and bake for 55-60 minutes.
- When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese all over the top and drizzle with a little more olive oil and sprinkle the remaining thyme over the top.
- Cut into squares and serve.
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wonderful…wonderful…wonderful tart & taste.
I was taken aback by the amount of sugar, but i will reduce it next time…
★★★★★
Thanks Carmela – glad you liked it!
How can I modify this recipe to be gluten free?
We’ve only made the recipe as written Sasha. I suppose you could try gluten free flour?
Martha,
I made this recipe for the first time, nervous at first, as pine nuts, extremely expensive, however sounded so delicious! I made the full recipe for serving of 12, however, there was only 4 of us for lunch! ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Worth every penny, my guest raved about it, and wanted the recipe. Many, many thanks, will definitely make again. I froze the remainder, do you think it will be the same, how would you suggest reheating it!
Thank you, Mei-sheng Shanks
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I’d thaw before reheating – the wrap in foil and then reheat in a warm oven.
This sounds amazing, but, seriously 1 cup of oil, is it greasy tasting?
Hi Kim – This makes a large sheet pan-size tart so 1 cup of oil isn’t that much for thistle quantity
A couple of questions. Can it be made a day ahead and served room temperature? Is it best to salt the zucchini first to reduce the liquid? I want to slice it thinner to use as a finger appetizer.
Hi Judy – You can make it a day ahead and serve it at room temperature. It’s not necessary to salt the zucchini. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I found this recipe as my husband brought in a couple of oversized zucchini and made it last night. It was wonderful! Hearty, filled with lots of healthy things and a great way to use the abundance of zucchini I had. I really like the cornmeal addition for texture and flavor. I can see this being a foundational recipe to use with any number of variations… fresh corn, mushrooms. Maybe add slivered salami or sausage for a different dish. AND it was great as written.
★★★★★
Thanks Vicki – agree – you can definitely change up the ingredients to make other delicious versions.
Can you make this ahead of time and freeze it?
Hi Nan – We haven’t tried freezing this recipe ourselves, but I know in the comments, another reader mentioned that they froze the leftovers.
Hi, Thanks for this great recipe! My family really enjoyed this tart. Next time, I will bake it for 65-70 minutes because most of it was a tad soft and underdone. It was perfectly edible, we just like it crisper. I am also going to omit the pine nuts because we didn’t think they were needed and they are quite expensive. I am thinking of adding chopped prosciutto to give a contrast to the sweetness of the veggies. Many thanks again!
Glad you liked the recipe Ann Marie!
I made this for dinner last night, and it was fabulous! So many flavors and textures which all worked well together, and none of them overpowered the others. I followed the recipe exactly because I’d never made anything like it and didn’t know what to expect, and it turned out perfectly. It was a little heavy on prep (perhaps I should have used the food processor for all that slicing), but for a rainy Sunday afternoon during the pandemic, it wasn’t a problem. And I love that we have lots of leftovers in the freezer!!
★★★★★
Thanks Joan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Delicious, even the meat eaters liked it, I did half portions , cooked 45 min and left out sugar, used chard instead of spinach.
Didn’t really get a batter but was fine. Thanks
★★★★★
You’re welcome Emma!