A few swaps ago, I was happy to get Hezzi-D’s blog for Blogger Choice swap, as I already had a few of her recipes on my “to try” list.  Well, this week’s swap was themed “Game Day” and I was assigned crispy baked zucchini fries from Sarah, who hosts the swaps, at A Taste of Home Cooking, and this same recipe from this same blog was on my list, too.  Crazy!

While I didn’t make these for a game day, I did make them for a Ladies Wine Excercise I hosted at my house.  They actually paired nicely.  I was afraid the breading wouldn’t stick to the zucchini sticks well, but the flour coating seemed to really help.  The panko was so crispy and I had no problem with the breading coming off.

Nate raved about these when we had them for leftovers two nights later!  I was surprised that I could get them crispy again, as when I took them out of the fridge, they were soggy and flimsy.  I re-heated them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, and the crisp instantly came back.

I served these with marinara sauce, and we just tried them last night with ranch dressing, as suggested by Sarah; both sauces were excellent, but I think I prefered the ranch dressing.  My only gripe is that they don’t stay warm for very long, so you must eat them up quickly!

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

Source: A Taste of Home Cooking
Servings: 6-10

Ingredients:

1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch thick matchsticks, about 4-5-inches long

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil.

2. Whisk eggs (or substitute) in a shallow baking dish.  In another shallow baking dish, combine panko, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and cayenne.  Set both dishes aside.

3. Pour flour into a large gallon sized zip-top bag.  Dump in zucchini sticks.  Seal bag and shake until all zucchini sticks are well coated with flour.

4. Taking a few sticks at a time, dip completely in egg mixture, then dredge in panko mixture until evenly coated.  Transfer to prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown and crisp.  Serve with marinara or ranch dipping sauce.