Zucchini Fries

I asked my mom for some large zucchini and she delivered. We probably just started eating zucchini in the past year. I grilled some on my little griddler last summer with some oil and salt and it was tasty. Everyday Food had a recipe for Zucchini Fries in the June edition. We served hot dogs with it. I think we made this Tuesday as I realized I didn't have the meat I need to make the stuffed peppers so we just switched meals.

 This recipe did take some time to do. It is not a quick side dish since you have to flip each one over at 10 minutes. I did taste it after 20 minutes to see if it was done enough. It would be crisp yet if it wasn't.  If you haven't worked a lot with cayenne pepper start small and build up. Its one of my new favorite ingredients to work with. The panko took us forever to find in the store but we found it next to the meat department. It must be one of those items they didn't know what to do with so they put on the same shelves as the Velveeta. Panko is Japanese style breadcrumbs. It is much lighter and crunchier then normal breadcrumbs.
Overall, I really liked these and Barry warmed up to them.
Recipe:
Serves 4
Active Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 35 mins

• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cup panko 
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan  (2 1/4 oz)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 large zucchini (1 1/4 pounds total) halved crosswise and cut into 1/2-inch wedges

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Lightly coat two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray.  Get your station set up so you can go from bowl to bowl to pan and not make a big mess. In a wide bowl, mix together panko, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper. In a medium wide dish, lightly beat egg whites.
2. You can put a few in the egg whites and then drop them into the breading. Then working with one at a time dip zucchini wedges in egg whites, then breadcrumb mixture, get a good coat on them. The crunchier the better.  Arrange on sheets in a single layer. Bake until coating is golden brown and crisp. Set a timer for 10 minutes flipping each zucchini over and rotating sheets halfway through and then another 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve immediately.
Adapted from EveryDay Food, June 2011, pg 47