Courgette & Potato Scarpaccia
I have a little list that I add to over the year, when I spot a delicious looking dish somewhere and want to remind myself to make it when the relevant produce comes into season. It’s very much courgette season right now, and so this week I had a go at a dish that I’d never heard of before, but loved the look of.
I’m pleased to report that it was easy to make and really tasty! The two most important things…. It’s a kind of rustic (pastry-less) tart from Italy. I added grated potato to make it a bit more substantial. And I ate it in large quantities with green salad and a bit of grated parmesan. Totally addictive.
Serves 2, or more as a snack
Makes 1 tart, 20cm x 30cm
400g courgette
150g potato
1/2 medium onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
plenty of black pepper
15g polenta
40g plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to grease the tin
sprinkle of sea salt
Preheat an oven to 200*C.
Wash the courgette and then slice into very thin rounds. You can use a mandoline. I don’t have one so use a potato peeler to slice it up nice and thinly.
Grate the potato. You can peel it, but I don’t bother.
Finely chop the onion.
Remove the rosemary leaves from the stalk, then finely chop the rosemary leaves (discard the stalk)
Put the courgette, potato, onion and rosemary into a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, polenta, flour and olive oil then mix thoroughly.
Line a baking tray (20cm x 30cm) with greaseproof paper, then brush the tray and paper with plenty of olive oil.
Push the courgette mix into the tray and flatten it out, pushing down with your fingers. It should be really thin and even. Top with a little more olive oil and a few flakes of sea salt.
Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the tart is brown and crispy.
Eat warm or cold.