Potatoes have had a monopoly on the “fry” market for too long... When done right, zucchini can give a potato a run for it’s money any day. Crispy on the outside, and just tender enough in the center - you might forget french fries all together. Served with light ranch dressing on the side, this is a great fast-food alternative.
About this time of year I know I’ll start missing this garden “weed”... but not quite yet. It’s fun to have an alternative to potatoes to serve with a meal. We enjoyed these with Easy as (Tomato) Pie the other night - and they were just the right side dish. I plan to make extra next time, slightly under-bake them, then freeze them to rewarm later when I’m eating alone.
In my young-mother days I used to make fried zucchini dipped in egg and crushed saltines. My kids still love those - but you can start feeling like a slave after laboring over those for very long. I enjoyed making these because once they are in the oven I can put my feet up and relax - no tedious turning or smoking up the kitchen. Using extra light olive oil (which has a mild flavor) makes these a bit more healthy, and reduces the smoking from high heat in the oven.
I tried making these two ways. (1) Dipped ONCE in the cornmeal mixture... (2) Dipped TWICE. I personally preferred the single dip, because the extra coating detracted from the tender zucchini. Not to mention the extra step it saved (and a messy one at that...) But if you are a real “coating” person - you might enjoy the extra crunch.
For this recipe and step-by-step photos - go to:
www.changeabletable.com ("empty nest" tab)
I love zucchini in any form, but mostly as FRIES. Love that you used cornmeal! Your recipe and photos made me drool!
ReplyDeleteI used panko and they were really good too! Love these with marinara. YUM!
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