Lunch · Dinner
Zucchini
Scarpaccia.
The thin, golden zucchini tart from the Tuscan coast, rebuilt for a body that wants protein and fibre rather than a slab of white flour. Zucchini, red onion and basil baked into a savoury crust you can eat with your hands. This recipe serves two. Double it on a large tray for a family or for lunches through the week.
- Energy
- 1,640 kJ (395 kcal)
- Protein
- 22 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Carbohydrate
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
- Net carbs
- 18 g
How to make it.
- 01
Slice the zucchini into very thin rounds, 2 mm if you can, with a mandoline or a sharp knife. Toss in a colander with 1 tsp of salt and leave for 10 minutes to release its water.
- 02
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray, about 25 by 35 cm, with baking paper and brush it with half the olive oil.
- 03
Squeeze the zucchini firmly in a clean tea towel to remove as much water as you can. This is the step that makes the tart crisp rather than soggy.
- 04
In a large bowl whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and plenty of pepper. Stir in the buckwheat flour, almond meal and most of the parmesan until smooth.
- 05
Fold the zucchini, red onion and basil through the batter so every slice is coated.
- 06
Spread the mixture over the tray as thinly as you can, about 1 cm. Scatter the remaining parmesan on top and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil.
- 07
Bake for 25 minutes until the top is deeply golden and the edges are crisp. Rest for 5 minutes, cut in half and finish with fresh basil.
Why this meal works.
In Viareggio, scarpaccia is a peasant dish of zucchini bound with flour and water, baked thin and eaten warm from the tray. It is beautiful, but the traditional version is mostly refined flour, which means a quick rise in blood sugar and not much to hold you until dinner. I wanted the same crisp, golden thing with a very different effect on the body.
The crust here is eggs, buckwheat flour, almond meal and parmesan. That combination gives you 22 grams of protein per serve, which is what keeps muscle on your frame while you lose fat, and it turns a snack sized tart into a proper meal. Buckwheat is not wheat at all. It is a seed, naturally gluten free, with a lower glycaemic load and more magnesium and fibre than white flour, so a little goes a long way.
Zucchini is the volume in this dish. Four hundred grams of it between two people fills the tray and fills you up for very few calories, and salting and squeezing it first is what lets the tart bake crisp. Combined with the fat from the eggs, almond meal and olive oil, the small amount of carbohydrate is released slowly, so your blood sugar stays steady and your body stays in rest and digest.
This is the kind of food I want on your table when the goal is fat loss. It is generous, it tastes like a holiday, and it does its work without you having to think about it.
Micronutrients on the plate.
- Choline and vitamin B12 from the eggs for brain and nerve health.
- Magnesium and rutin from the buckwheat, supporting blood vessels and nervous system function.
- Calcium from the parmesan for bones and muscle contraction.
- Potassium and vitamin C from the zucchini, and quercetin from the red onion, an antioxidant that helps calm inflammation.
- Vitamin E from the almond meal and polyphenols from the extra virgin olive oil.
Make it yours.
- Feeding four? Double everything and use two trays, or one very large tray, and bake for 30 minutes.
- Dairy free? Leave out the parmesan and add 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast to the batter for the savoury note.
- Swap basil for thyme or oregano, or add a handful of cherry tomatoes halved on top before baking.
- For more protein, serve with a piece of grilled fish or a side of white beans dressed with lemon.
- Keeps for three days in the fridge and is very good cold, which makes it an easy packed lunch or picnic dish.
Tuscany on a baking tray, without the flour hangover. Buon appetito.
Enjoy!
With love, Serena ×