With zucchini and yellow squash overwhelming the farmers markets by late summer, I decided to get creative with my summertime cooking. I attempted a fun snack – baked zucchini sticks – that also had the benefit of using up some leftover panko in my cupboard.
The recipe was fairly easy to construct, though more time-consuming than I expected. Dredging the zucchini sticks one by one and then rolling in the parmesan/panko mixture was quite laborious, but thankfully the results were very good.
When hot, the sticks were crisp and tasty. When cool, the sticks developed more of an eggy flavor, which wasn't as pleasing for my tastebuds.
These snacks would be a great summer appetizer with a marinara sauce or the KAF recommended sweet onion dip (linked in the recipe above). Given how much time it took to make them, I think they would be particularly good for a tapas-style party.
You start this recipe was cutting the zucchini pieces into equally sized sticks.
You then put the sticks in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and then let the water from the zucchini drain out for approx. for an hour or two.
As the zucchini exudes its water, you can prepare the seasoned parmesan / panko mixture. I didn't use the full amount of parmesan, salt, and seasonings called for in the recipe, and it showed up in the blander results so make sure to use the recipe amounts (if not a bit more). This may also help reduce the eggy flavor that results when the sticks are cooled.
After the zucchini is done draining, rinse the sticks and pat them dry. Then dredge the sticks in the egg mixture, roll in the prepared panko mixture, and place on a lined baking tray.
Pop the full tray into the preheated oven, turn once or twice to get even browning and serve! Yum!
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