- Butter and flour a 9- by 12- by 2 1/2-inch or a 7- by 11-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- Cut the zucchini into thin rounds. Layer them in a colander and sprinkle salt between each layer. Place a weight such as a 28-ounce can of tomatoes on the zucchini to weigh the slices down. Allow the zucchini to "sweat" for 1 hour. Then rinse and dry the slices and set them aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the milk, salt, and flour to create a batter. Fold in the zucchini.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Drizzle the top with the olive oil.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center.
- Serve warm cut into squares.
- Note: Small size zucchini have less water, less seeds, and are more tender than larger ones.
- This recipe yields 8 servings.
- Comments: Viareggio is a coastal city famous for its Carnival, where you might sample scarpaccia Viareggina, a delicious slightly sweet zucchini tart and likely ask yourself if it's a dessert or a savory? It could be both and at one time was served after the meal, but today is thought of more as a snack food. It takes its name from the word scarpa for shoe, because it looks well cooked when taken from the oven, like a well-worn shoe.
Notes:
Recipe from "Ciao Italia In Tuscany" by Mary A. Esposito, (St. Martin's Press, 2003) |
