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.
