Man I LOVE Pinterest! Here's
another good find from there. These are SO yummy- healthy and the dip is AMAZING! We had a bunch left over so we grilled some chicken and slathered it on. Mmmmm!
Ingredients:
3 medium zucchini, 9-10" long
Salt
1 T. Butter
1 medium sweet onion
2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. honey
1 T. prepared mustard
1 c. mayo
1 cup
Panko bread crumbs
scant 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon
Pizza Seasoning or mixed Italian herbs
2 large eggs or 1/2 c. egg substitute
Directions:
1. Cut each zucchini into 3″ sticks about the diameter of your finger.
Cutting each zuke into 9 sticks lengthwise, then cutting into 3″
lengths, works well.
2. Place the zucchini sticks in a colander over a bowl, and sprinkle
with 1 tablespoon of salt. Let them drain for 1 hour or longer. While the zucchini are shedding their excess liquid, make the dip.
3. First, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium-sized frying pan over
moderate heat, and add 1 medium sweet onion (about 1/2 pound), sliced. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, then
caramelizes. This should take between 20 and 25 minutes, at medium-low
heat. The lower the heat, the longer it takes, but the less likely you
are to burn the onions.When the onions are medium brown, remove them from the heat.
4. Place the caramelized onions, cider vinegar, honey, and mustard in a food processor or blender. Process until fairly smooth.
5. Remove from the processor, and stir in 1 cup mayonnaise.
(The resulting 1 1/2 cups dip can be used not only for these zucchini sticks, but as a tasty sandwich condiment.)
Note that I’ve purposely not added any salt to the dip. I find that
the zucchini sticks themselves, with the salt you added to drain them
and the addition of Pizza Seasoning, are plenty salty. If you plan on
using this dip for another purpose, you might want to add 1/4 teaspoon
salt.
6. Back to the zucchini sticks. Rinse them thoroughly; you want to get rid of any excess salt. Then pat them dry.
7. Next up: the bread and cheese coating. But first, preheat the oven to
425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, and spray the parchment with
olive oil.
Combine the following:
1 cup
Panko bread crumbs
scant 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon
Pizza Seasoning or mixed Italian herbs
Mix until thoroughly combined.
8. Beat 2 large eggs; or pour 1/2 cup egg substitute into a dish. You’re going to dip each zucchini stick in the egg then roll it in the crumbs.
Warning! Warning! Do as I say, not as I did. I figured, heck, just lay ‘em all in the crumbs and toss ‘em around, right? Never mind this coating one-by-one stuff…
WRONG.
About midway through, the crumbs had gotten so much egg splashed onto
them they were sticking together in a solid mass. So I had to add a lot
more Panko, and that still didn’t really help.
Trust me, these will look a lot nicer if you take the time to
dip-and-roll one by one. Maybe you could divvy up the egg and crumbs,
and get one of the kids to help you…
9. Place the sticks on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the sticks for about 12 minutes, until they’re starting to
brown. Remove from the oven, and turn them over; you may actually need
to do this one by one, or you may be able to turn several at a time
using a spatula. Bake for
an additional 12 to 16 minutes or so, until
golden brown and crisp.
These baking times don’t match those in the recipe; I realize that. Bottom line, bake until the sticks are a speckled golden brown…
Now, put the sticks on a plate, the dip in a nice bowl…and dig in! With guests, of course.
Any leftover sticks can be wrapped and stored in the fridge. Reheat at 350°F for about 10 to 15 minutes, if desired.
