When zucchini comes into the garden, you don’t just get a little of it, you get a bunch. Like many fruits and vegetables, it can be a challenge looking for fun and interesting ways to use it all up. Saute, grilled and made into bread, zucchini works well in a wide variety of recipes.
Looking for something new, I ran across this little gem – Parmesan Zucchini Sticks.
These would work great as an appetizer, but I found them to be an interesting side dish as well.
I decided not to make the sauce on this try (if someone does, let me know if it is any good) but heated up some leftover pasta sauce instead.
Breadcrumbs and cheese.
Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Smoky Roasted Romesco Sauce
Makes: 8 servings (serving size: 6 zucchini sticks and 1/4 cup sauce)
Ingredients:
Sauce:
- 3 medium red bell peppers
- 2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- 1/2 cup (1/2-inch) cubed French bread baguette, crusts removed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons smoked almonds
- 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 large garlic clove
Zucchini:
- 3 large zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup egg substitute
- Cooking spray
Directions:
1. Preheat broiler.
2. To prepare sauce, cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place bell pepper halves and tomatoes, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten bell peppers with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and coarsely chop, reserving any liquid.
3. Combine bell peppers, reserved liquid, tomatoes, and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.
4. Preheat oven to 400°.
5. To prepare zucchini, cut 1 zucchini in half crosswise; cut each half lengthwise into 8 wedges. Repeat procedure with remaining zucchini. Combine breadcrumbs, panko, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Dip zucchini in egg substitute; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place zucchini on a wire rack coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat zucchini with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately with sauce.
Nutritional Info:
170 calories 30 % caloriesfromfat 5.6 g fat 1.3 g satfat 2.5 g monofat 1.3 g polyfat 8.4 g protein 23.4 g carbohydrate 3.9 g fiber 3 mg cholesterol 1.9 mg iron 434 mg sodium 107 mg calcium
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
Zucchini is my favorite vegetble!! That looks delish 🙂
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I like that these zucchini sticks are baked – so much healthier. They look yummy! Too bad my zucchini is all gone 😦
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This looks so good! My zucchini I died to evil vine borers, but I am going to get some from the store and try this.
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Yes I know exactly what you mean! I grew zucchini’s a couple of years ago and ended up with 20kg worth in about 3 months. It was a fun (and tasty) challenge to use them all up.
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Looks amazing, and pretty healthy too. Thanks for the recipe, I might give it a try later this week. And thanks for dropping by my blog earlier!
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Hi! I make romesco sauce for my cooking classes all the time. You should try it, really delicious and pairs really well with vegetables!
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I enjoy reading your posts, so I have nominated you for One Lovely Blog Award.
Check out the link http://rockmad.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/clearing-throat-i-would-like-to-thank-the-lol/
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That is a great way to fix zucchini. It is out of season here. I will save this recipe for next year. 😉
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Reblogged this on debsthoughtstoday and commented:
Zucchini is out of season here but this looks so good. I couldn’t resist sharing it.
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