Baked Zucchini Fries

Though snacks are always inviting at my home,but they are enjoyed best on a rainy day or in the months to come(winters).Do you feel the same esp these baked snacks?? Initially when I landed in US,I hardly new about zucchinis & never added them in my veggie list.But gradually thought about trying these green and yellow ones,now have regularly stacked up in our refrigerator.They are also known as courgette and relatively are a low calorie vegetable.They have moderate sources of folate & potassium.I sometimes prepare potato-squash curry,other times in bread or salads.But this is the first time I tried these baked fries.Everyone liked it at home,what more do you want.These were similar to the baked avocado fritters and loved it !!


Ingredients
zucchini 2,sliced
an egg
pepper powder 1/2 tsp
italian seasoning 1/2tsp
salt to taste
parmesan cheese 1/4 cup
all purpose flour 1/2 cup
panko bread crumbs(refer notes) 1.5 cup
olive oil 2tbsp

Method

• Wash,peel the skin of zucchini and cut in thick slices of 2.5- 3" long.
• In a bowl,add the parmesan cheese ,bread crumbs,pepper powder,italian seasoning  and salt.Mix well.
• Place all three- beaten egg in a bowl,all purpose flour in another bowl and bread crumbs mixture in separate shallow bowls.
• Drop each slices in the flour then dip in egg.Then finally roll in bread crumbs mixture and coat well to cover fully.
• Pre heat oven to 400 degrees F and  keep a tray coated with cooking spray.
• Place all sliced rolled zucchinis in the tray and and drizzle about 2tbsp of oil.
• Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.You can turn the tray half way for even browning.
• Serve warm with marinara sauce or tomato ketchup !!

NOTES
* Ideally panko bread crumbs should be used for the light fluffy texture but here I made my own coarse bread crumbs(quite similar to panko bread crumbs).Pre heat oven to 300 degrees F and add 8-10 slices of torn bread in the blender.Pulse it every 20 seconds to get coarse crumbs.Spread it on a sheet tray and place in pre heated oven.Dry for about 6 minutes,remove and spread again so that its dried well from all sides.Give another 3 minutes.Remove from oven and use for recipe.(the crumbs should be dried and not toasted)

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