Scarpaccia | Healthy & Easy Italian Vegetable Flatbread

This is the dish we personally eat the most in our daily lives. That’s not hyperbole; we sit down and share this food at least once a week, if not more often, which we can hardly say about any other single recipe.

Zucchini Scarpaccia | Healthy & Easy Italian Vegetable Flatbread

Why the obsession for this simple, Italian flatbread? It’s the perfect trifecta of being very easy to make, extremely healthy, and so delicious that we most often compare it to eating a pizza. Read on to see what the secret of “scarpaccia” is and how to make it for yourself!

What is Scarpaccia?

Scarpaccia is a simple flatbread which comes from the Italian region of Tuscany. There, poor farmers mixed a ton of zucchini (which they had in abundance) with a little bit of flour (which was potentially more scarce) to create a type of “bread” unlike any other.

The secret of scarpaccia is the ratio of vegetables to flour. Whereas most “vegetable flatbreads” will be normal bread with a few vegetables mixed in, scarpaccia uses mostly zucchini and only just enough flour to act as a glue and hold everything together. The result is a kind of focaccia or pizza that’s full of incredible flavor, but is just about as healthy as eating a salad.

It sounds too good to be true, but it’s the real deal! In order to understand how delicious it is, the only thing to do is try it for yourself.

Which Vegetables Can I Use?

Traditionally, scarpaccia is made with both sliced zucchini and zucchini flowers. Given that most of our readers probably can’t find zucchini flowers in the abundant amount needed for this recipe, we’ve opted to skip them. If you happen to be lucky enough to have some, feel free to incorporate them into the bread. You may need to reduce the sliced zucchini very slightly, or add a little more flour to account for the extra ingredient.

"Scarpaccia" Made with Potatoes & Rosemary

Other vegetables can be used as well! This recipe is a great fridge cleaner. Some of our favorites include summer squash, carrots, and even potatoes. In addition, you can also grate the vegetables instead of slicing them, which results in a more even texture. You can also get creative and play around with different seasonings.

With drier vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots, the only adjustment you might need to make is adding a little extra water to bind the flour.

Watch the Pasta Grammar video:

SCARPACCIA RECIPE

Makes: One flatbread, serves 4 to 6

Cook Time: 2 hours, largely unattended

For this recipe, you will need:

• 14 ounces (400 grams) zucchini—about 2 large zucchini

• ½ large onion

• Salt

• Fresh black pepper

• 4 to 5 fresh basil leaves

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 ⅔ cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour, or as needed

Slice the zucchini and onion very thin (best to use a mandolin, if available) and place the vegetables in a large bowl. Season them generously with salt and a pinch of black pepper. Mix and set aside for 30 to 45 minutes so that the vegetables can release their water into the bowl.

Preheat the oven to 395° F (200° C).

Mix a few torn basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil into the zucchini and onion. Next, add the flour. The amount of flour needed depends on how much water the vegetables released. When in doubt, you can start with 1 ¼ cups (150 grams) and gradually add more flour until you achieve the right consistency.

Stir the flour into the vegetables with a spatula. Ideally, the flour should create a thick glue that holds the vegetable slices together, but isn’t enough to form a normal dough. Don’t be discouraged if it takes some trial and error to find what works for you. If the finished flatbread doesn’t hold together well, you likely need some more flour next time.

Grease a medium or small non-stick baking pan with olive oil. The size of the baking sheet doesn’t matter too much and is largely a matter of preference: a bigger pan will create a thinner, crispier flatbread while a smaller pan will make the bread thicker and softer. Evenly spread the “dough” into the pan with a spatula. Drizzle the top with a little extra olive oil.

Bake the flatbread for 45 minutes, or until the dough solidifies and begins to become crispy on the edges and top. Serve warm, or at room temperature. It’s best to eat the scarpaccia within one day.

Buon appetito!