Weather: 54 degrees, flood advisory
What I’m listening to: rain
It wasn’t long after I posted my Zucchini Recipe Round-Up for National Zucchini Day last week that I headed to the kitchen with purpose inspired by Pinch of Yum’s Baked Zucchini Fries recipe. By ‘not long’ I mean maybe five minutes. 30 minutes later, we were gobbling them up, Instagramming them, and wishing we had more zucchini on hand. The next day, armed with two zucchini from the garden, we made another batch, which was gone just as quickly.
While I didn’t intend to adapt this recipe at all, I didn’t have any seasoned breadcrumbs in my pantry, just the unseasoned variety, so I seasoned them myself with my own mixture, which is reflected in the recipe below. If you have seasoned breadcrumbs, feel free to make Lindsay’s awesome version instead, which has a shorter list of ingredients. We dipped ours in creamy buttermilk dressing, but they would also be outstanding dipped in marinara sauce, as Lindsay recommends.
Baked Zucchini Fries
A simple, delicious, and lighter alternative to fried zucchini. Served with buttermilk dressing or marinara sauce. Adapted from [Pinch of Yum|http://pinchofyum.com/baked-zucchini-fries].
Yields: Serves 2
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into uniform sticks
- 1 egg white
- 1/3 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb mixture
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
Add the zucchini and egg white to a bowl. Toss to coat.
In another bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, Italian herbs, cayenne, parmesan, and salt and pepper. Dip the zucchini sticks in the crumb mixture, coating them entirely, then place each stick on the baking sheet in a single layer. Spray the the zucchini fries with cooking spray.
Bake 20-25 minutes until breadcrumbs are crisp and browned. Serve promptly with buttermilk dressing or marinara sauce.