Baked Zucchini Strips with Lemon Garlic Aioli
It’s raining and overcast today in Colorado so decided to turn on the oven at lunchtime and experiment with some extra zucchini we had lying around. The kids loved these and at first sight, thought they were mozzarella sticks!
Lemon Garlic Aoli
½ cup Mayonaise
2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
Zucchini Strips
2 Medium Zucchini
½ tsp. Kosher Salt
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 Large Egg
2 Egg Whites
3 Bread Slices (cubed and finely processed into 2 cups worth of crumbs)
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 Tbsp. Fresh Chives, minced
½ tsp. Kosher Salt
Sprinkling of Fresh Chives, minced for garnish
Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prep Lemon Garlic Aioli by combining ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside so flavor can develop.
To prepare zucchini, cut off ends. Stand the zucchini upright and cut into ¼” slices. Then, proceed to cut into even matchstick size pieces, approximately 2 1/2” x ¼”. Sprinkle with salt and let rest for about 15 minutes. Rinse zucchini and pat dry with a towel.
Set out 3 shallow bowls. Add flour to one of the bowls and set aside. In the second bowl, beat together egg and egg whites until frothy. Prepare bread crumbs by processing bread slices in food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place crumbs in last bowl along with garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and chives and mix together.
Dredge zucchini strips in flour and then dip into egg mixture. Using clean dry hand or tongs, dip coated zucchini into bread crumb mixture. Note: Take just a few tablespoons of the bread crumb mixture and place out onto a plate in order to coat the zucchini. You will find that if you dip the egg drenched zucchini into the big bowl of bread crumbs, the crumbs will begin to clump together making it difficult to get an even crust across the zucchini.
Place dipped zucchini onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining zucchini. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and season with approximately ½ tsp. of Kosher Salt and Fresh Chives. When serving, dip strips into Lemon Garlic Aioli.
Hope you enjoy this recipe! My kiddos gobbled them up!
-Elayne
