Zucchini Tart

To prepare the zucchini savory pie, start by making the shortcrust pastry: in a bowl, combine the flour, butter 1, water 2, and a pinch of salt 3. Begin to work the mixture by hand in the bowl 3.

As soon as the dough begins to take shape, transfer it to a surface 4 and continue to work it until it is homogeneous 5. Try not to overwork the dough and not to heat it too much, otherwise the butter will start to melt. Wrap it in plastic wrap 6 and let it rest for 30-40 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Trim the zucchinis 7 and cut them into rounds about 0.12 inches thick 8. Clean the shallot and chop it finely 9.

Now move on to the pancetta: first cut it into strips and then into half inch cubes 10. Now pour a drizzle of oil into a large non-stick pan, add the shallot and let it sauté over low heat. Add the pancetta 11 and let it brown. When it is well browned, also add the zucchinis 12 and let them cook on high heat for about ten minutes. Then turn off the heat and let them cool down.

In the meantime, also cut the scamorza cheese into half inch cubes. In a bowl, break the eggs, add salt, pepper and beat them with a fork 13. Also add the grated Parmesan 14 and mix well 15.

Pour in the zucchinis that should be lukewarm by now 16 and incorporate them into the egg mixture 17. Add the scamorza, keeping aside a handful for the final decoration 18.

Mix well with a spatula 19 and set aside the filling. Take the dough from the fridge and roll it out, using a little flour, on a pastry board 20. You should obtain a diameter of about 11.8 inches and a thickness of 0.08 inches 21.

Use the pastry sheet to line a 10-inch mold 22. Gently press with your hands to make it adhere well to the edges, then using a knife remove the excess dough 23, to finish the edges 24. Keep the leftover dough aside because it will be needed shortly.

Pour the zucchini mixture into the shortcrust pastry shell and spread it well 25; arrange the remaining pieces of scamorza on top 26. Knead the shortcrust pastry scraps again 27.

Roll out the dough again to a thickness of 0.08 inches 28 and with a pastry cutter get seven strips 10 inches long and 0.8 inches wide 29, which will be used for the diamonds. Place 4 of them in the same direction 30.

Now place another three in the other direction crossing them 31 and remove the excess dough, so as to obtain the classic diamonds 32. Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 355°F on the lower rack for about 50 minutes. When it is well browned, take it out of the oven 33 and serve it hot or warm.