Scarpaccia (Savory Zucchini Cake)
Scarpaccia is a mouthwatering blend of three carby faves... just imagine a tart, focaccia, and cornbread all rolled up in one delicious dish!
Ingredients
- 2 small-medium zucchini, green or yellow, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 ½ cups almond flour, firmly packed
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon fine table salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 cup water
- Freshly ground black pepper, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F and line a 9×13 inch dish with parchment paper (this will prevent sticking and make it easy to remove finished loaf).
- Liberally coat a large skillet with oil spray and warm over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and onions, and sauté for 8-10 minutes, until most of the water has come out of the zucchini. Next, Season with a sprinkling of kosher salt and ground black pepper, and continue to cook for three more minutes, or until veggies are nicely soft and sauteed. Drain extra liquid from the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine almond flour, cornmeal, egg, olive oil, water, salt, and optional ground black pepper.
- Add sautéed zucchini and onions to the flour mixture, stirring until well combined. When adding the sautéed vegetables, limit any excess water that may still be settled in the pan. Mix in the cherry tomatoes.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the crust is set and the scarpaccia is cooked through. Let cool for at least 10 minutes to set before slicing and enjoying.
Notes
Pack the almond flour
- Make sure to firmly pack the almond flour when measuring it into your cups. If it's loosely packed, the scarpaccia may turn out soggy.
- Want to switch it up? Replace 1 cup of the zucchini with 1 cup of chopped mushrooms. Just sauté the mushrooms until they're fully cooked, browned, and all the moisture is absorbed before mixing them into the batter.
- While cheese isn’t traditional for scarpaccia, adding some can boost the flavor! Try mixing grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano into the batter and/or sprinkling some on top for extra flavor.
- If you don’t have a 9×13-inch baking pan, no worries! You can use a parchment-lined baking sheet instead—a standard half sheet pan (18 x 13 inches) works great. Just note: the mixture will spread into a thinner layer (about ¼ inch thick), so check it around the 40-minute mark. You’ll end up with crispy edges and a slightly cakier center. Yum!
- Scarpaccia can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. It’s delicious cold straight from the fridge, or you can warm it in the microwave or toaster oven.
- This recipe can be made with all-purpose flour instead of almond flour. To substitute, use 1 cup all-purpose flour in place of the 1½ cups almond flour and add one additional egg (for a total of 2 eggs) to help maintain moisture and structure. Keep all other ingredients the same—including the ½ cup of cornmeal. When using all-purpose flour, the baking time may be slightly shorter. Begin checking for doneness at 45 minutes. The dish is ready when the top is lightly browned. In testing, the version with all-purpose flour was fully baked at 50 minutes.
- Note that almond flour and cornmeal are inherently gluten-free. Just use certified gluten-free cornmeal and you're all set.
Nutrition Information per serving
Serving Size: 1 sliceCalories: 140Carbohydrates: 11gProtein: 5gTotal Fat: 9g— Unsaturated Fat: 8g— Saturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 150mgPotassium: 248mgFiber: 3gTotal Sugar: 2g— Natural Sugar: 2g— Added Sugar: 0gCalcium: 48mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is calculated using a leading industry software. That being said, brands can vary, and there may be slight fluctuations in the numbers.