You may find this hard to believe, but I’m thankful for my zucchini plants. I know they get a bad reputation, and urban legends abound of midnight deposits of giant zucchinis on neighbour’s front porches. But I’ve made my peace with the prolific plant. The key is to pick ‘em early and pick ‘em often, because it seems they double in size overnight. And while zucchini bread is all well and good, (chocolate zucchini bread is even gooder), my new favourite way to enjoy the unassuming vegetable is to turn it into a cheesy, salty, crispy snack.
Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
(Smitten Kitchen)
Olive oil or cooking spray
2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
1 to 2 egg whites
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plain, dry breadcrumbs, such as panko
A couple pinches sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Coat two baking sheets lightly with cooking spray or thinly with olive oil. Slice zucchini into slightly-less-than 1/4-inch thick rounds; if they feel especially wet, spread them on a towel while you prepare the other ingredients. In a small bowl, lightly beat first egg white with 1 teaspoon water to loosen it. Combine cheese, crumbs, salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Dip each zucchini coin in egg white, letting excess run off before gently dipping them in parmesan mixture. Arrange in single layer on baking sheets. If additional egg white is needed, prepare it the same way, with 1 teaspoon of water. If additional crumb mixture is needed, make a few spoonfuls at a time, matching the volume of crumbs and cheese.
Bake zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, about 25 to 30 minutes, flipping each over halfway through. Please keep an eye on them; they may need to be moved around on the tray so the ones at the edges don’t bake more quickly than the ones in the center. Take them out only when they’re golden all over and let them cool on the tray on a cooling rack or a plate.
Keep at room temperature until needed. Crisps are best on the first day.
(Here’s the link for more discussion and photos of the process.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/09/zucchini-parmesan-crisps/ )
I always need more egg and crumb mixture so automatically use the two egg whites and double the crumbs. Keeping an eye on the crisps as they bake is key – they can go from nicely brown to “oops!” very quickly, though are still tasty even if they’re veering toward burnt.
If you've come to appreciate this problematic veggie, how do you most enjoy it?
4 comments:
I love steamed zucchini with butter, zucchini chips, zucchini bread - just about anything zucchini!!!
Thanks for the new recipe, Luanna! Can't wait to try it.
Love this recipe. I wonder if it will make my husband like zucchini? The only time we have zucchini is when it is foisted upon us by local gardners. I do make zucchini bread though the caloric and carb bump makes it difficult to rationalize unless we are having a party and can pawn slices off on others.
I do like zucchini cooked as a side dish, but DH doesn't like it all. He is vegetable-averse in general, and of all vegetbles zucchini is way down there.
I hope your neighbors are welcoming of the presents they find on their doorsteps.
Can't wait to try this recipe. I love zucchini in any form. In fact, somewhere on my shelves I have a zucchini cookbook (all things zucchini, for sure.) But when my kids were little...I used to puree it and add to spaghetti sauce, chocolate cake, anything you can imagine. Or I would use thin strips of it along with pasta in lasagna.
Your post prompted me to go out into the garden for the first time in a couple of weeks (the weather here in the SW UK has been awful). Hidden from view I found a vegetable which should have been a courgette(Zucchini in the US) which had grown to monstrous size. I wrestled it indoors and put it on the scales just for interest and found that it was 8lb and 12oz, my exact birth weight. My poor mother! I found that the last one I neglected was very good in ratatouille, but I love Debs suggestion of pureeing it and adding it to everything!
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