I have been trying to perfect the art of the oven-baked zucchini for a few weeks now, and I finally nailed it. I wish I had taken better pictures to show. I just took the one I have to brag to my husband who was at work and didn't get any. hehehe.
So here is the thing... I am a LAZY cook. All the recipes I have tell me to dredge in flour and then dip and then coat again. UGH. I don't like to dredge things in flour and then dip them in egg and then coat them in something and then put them on a pan. That is far too much work - and who has time? And why do they have to say dredge in flour? Why can't they just say, coat it?
Anyhoo, back to my Zucchini - it was perfectly cooked on the inside, delightfully crunchy on the outside, with the perfect flavor and after taste. Unfortunately, I didn't write down exact measurements, because that is just how I roll. However, I can give you a basic recipe, and you can change it up how you want.
Ingredients include:
2 zucchini's, peeled and cut in round shapes a little thicker than a quarter coin.
3 zip lock or similar bags for shaking the coating on
2 eggs
2 or so tablespoons of flour
Panko Breadcrumbs
Parmesan Cheese (the fake Kraft stuff is what I used, though I imagine real would be tastier)
Salt
Pepper
So - remember how lazy I said I was? Hence the zip lock bags! And it was so much faster!
Okay, so preheat your oven to 375. Get a baking sheet and cover it with tin foil. Spray the tin foil with a good amount of cooking spray, and sprinkle sea salt on top of the cooking spray.
Take 2 zucchini and peel them with a vegetable peeler. You could leave the skins on, but I think the flour sticks better when there is no skin? I dunno - try it and let me know.
Then, I cut them up a little thicker than quarter coins. You can probably do as thick as you like, but you will need to adjust the cooking time slightly so they aren't hard in the middle. You could also cut them in sticks, but I am all about the crunchy breading, so this worked for me.
Take about 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs and pour them into 1 of your ziplock baggies. Add 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Add about 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper. I also added seasoning salt and a shake of garlic powder. Go hog wild - if you want some spice, add some chili pepper or something. Close the top of your bag and shake it up until mixed. 2-3 good shakes will do it. Set aside your breadcrumb mixture for a minute.
Take another ziplock and pour your flour into it. Take your cut zucchini and throw it in the flour bag. Seal it up and shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake. Shake your boot... uh, your zucchini, until coated. So most recipes say 'dredge in flour' or 'lightly coat' or something. My method coats them pretty thick-like. And I like that - it makes them crispier I think. Regardless - it's easier than dredging them in flour one at a time or something. Make sure you don't have any sticking to each other, too.
Crack 2 eggs and whisk them in a bowl, and then pour them into your third ziplock. Take your zucchini from the flour bag into the egg bag a few at a time, and shake until coated. If you do too many at a time, they will stick together, but you can just separate them and shake again until coated. Then transfer them with a slotted spoon into your Panko breadcrumb bag. Shake again until coated. Separate anything that is sticking together, and once coated, place on the pre-prepared tin foil in a single layer.
Do that again and again until everything is coated. Pop them in the oven for 15 minutes to start. I take mine out at 15 minutes and then turn each one over and put them back in for another 5-10 minutes, until both sides are golden brown and crispy.
Serve with ranch or other dip. I made a Greek yogurt based dip with a ranch packet, leftover mashed avocado from the previous evening's dinner, and a sprinkle of sun dried tomato and basil feta cheese I had leftover. It was delightful.
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