Long a popular appetizer in Italian restaurants, this is a great way to use up some of that bumper crop of zucchini taking over your vegetable garden. It’s not only a tasty appetizer, but a delicious side dish kids will love! In addition, it is significantly lower in calories than the fried version.
Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini cut into sticks
2 egg whites
¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmegiano cheese
Preheat the oven to 425º convection or 450º conventional.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray.
Place the egg whites in a rimmed dish and whisk until well blended
Combine the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in a plastic bag and shake to combine.
Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmegiano on a sheet of waxed paper.
Place half the zucchini sticks in the bag and shake to coat. Remove and shake off excess flour.
Dip sticks in egg whites and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture to coat.
Place on the baking sheet, spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray and bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serve with marinara sauce.
NOTES: Panko breadcrumbs are large, crunchy breadcrumbs available in most grocery stores. If you can’t find them, use plain breadcrumbs. A recipe for marinara sauce can be found here on my website and is also on You Tube.
It seems anyone who has a vegetable garden is inundated with zucchini at this time of year. There are rumors of people leaving their excess harvest on neighbors doorsteps in the middle of the night! And no matter how diligently you gather your harvest there are always one or two zucchini who manage to hide under those lush leaves and grow into giants. While they are no longer the best choice for the usual vegetable recipes, they do make a delicious quick bread. Make a batch, freeze them and you have a teatime treat on hand. Wrap one in cellophane, tie it with a pretty ribbon and you have a great hostess gift!
Ingredients:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
¼ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two 8-inch loaf pans.
Sift together 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Combine the sugar, brown sugar, oil, and eggs and mix on medium speed using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer) until blended, about 2 minutes. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds.
Toss the grate zucchini with the remaining all-purpose flour and the whole wheat flour. Blend the zucchini and the walnuts into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for about 1 hour or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for about five minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
