Monday, July 8, 2013

Greek Dukkah-encrusted Zucchini Fries


I'm so excited about sharing this recipe with you!

Crunchy and full of flavour on the outside, soft and melt-in-the-mouth on the inside. These oven-baked dukkah-encrusted zucchini fries are so good you'll wonder how you ever ate two whole zucchinis to yourself.


I usually need to experiment with a new recipe idea several times before I get it right (sometimes I never get it right) but today I think I nailed this perfect snack dish on first attempt.

I am in love with these!! Never in my wildest dreams did I expect them to crunch up so well and taste so amazing. I'm so excited about this I've just finished twirling around on my office chair about 12 times in a row…


You may be familiar with Kolokithakia Tiganita (fried zucchinis) – a delicious Greek appetiser found on many Greek restaurant menus – well this is one of those dishes I've never been able to master. The zucchinis are usually sliced and dipped in a light batter then fried, and when done properly, they have a delectable crunch and stay sog-free until you finish them. But definitely not when I make them!

Since I've not had much success with traditional fried zucchinis in the past, I thought I'd put the batch of Greek-style Dukkah I made a few days ago to good use and experiment with my own take on zucchini fries, baked in the oven. And wow, what a result!

There are the usual techniques required when coating anything using the flour/egg/crumb method, like working quickly and keeping your hands goo-free, but everything else is so straight forward and easy!

These zucchini fries come out of the oven surprisingly crunchy, and stay that way for a good 15 minutes or so – plenty of time to eat the whole lot! The dukkah forms the perfect crust that seals in the zucchini juices and when you take a bite, it's all crunchy-soft and heavenly yum!


Greek Dukkah-encrusted Zucchini Fries


Makes about 24 fries

Ingredients

  • 2 large zucchinis
  • 1/4 cup wholemeal flour
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 cup of Greek-style Dukkah
  • Olive oil spray

Instructions

  1. Cut ends off the zucchinis. Cut each zucchini in half, then cut each half length ways into three strips. Then cut each strip length ways in half. You should end up with 12 sticks per zucchini.
  2. Roll the zucchini sticks in flour and dust off.
  3. Quickly dip each stick into the egg wash, then coat generously with dukkah.
  4. Place zucchini sticks onto a greased baking tray and sprinkle more dukkah over the top if necessary.
  5. Spray sticks with olive oil.
  6. Bake at 200 degrees celsius for 30 minutes, or until sizzling and golden.
I'm sharing this post over on Veggie Mama's blog today for Meatless Mondays. Today she's come up with a gorgeous spaghetti dish using simple pantry favourites.


32 comments:

  1. These look really great. Do you think it would work with eggplant?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes definitely! Oh I must try that next time!

      Delete
  2. OH MY! i CANNOT WAIT to make these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was so surprised they turned out as well as they did!

      Delete
  3. Excellent recipe Lisa. You're absolutely right to be so excited about the recipe you made. Inspired and perfectly executed. Can΄t wait to fix up your Greek Dukkah mix and make this recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mina! I'd love to know what you think of the flavours, and if they are Greek enough!!

      Delete
  4. Great appetizer! I appreciate these even more because they're oven baked.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And oven baking helps them stay in one piece too. I think frying would cause the crust to fall off.

      Delete
  5. Those look so good! Love the recipe :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ooh I hope I get some zucchini or eggplant in my veggie box soon - these need to be made ASAP! Preferably when there's no one else home so I don't have to share, they look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thrilled to finally find a local farmer's market recently. They have some gorgeous organic eggplant and zucchini and the best green beans I've ever seen!!

      Delete
  7. That is such a great idea! Your zucchini fries must be quite addictive. I'd lve to dip them into tarator sauce.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Addiction to zucchini fries is a bit of a problem in our household!! I think dipping in tartare sauce would only exacerbate the problem! Sounds delicious!!

      Delete
  8. Heading over to that dukkah recipe ASAP- zucchini fries are one of my favorite appetizers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The dukkah really adds that extra zing to these fries :)

      Delete
  9. Looks and sounds amazing. A definite must-try!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, these look really fun! And there isn't even any need for a dipping sauce with all that dukkah flavour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, no need for a sauce, but man they would taste great with one! Just something simple like tzatziki or even plain yoghurt would be delicious!

      Delete
  11. I am definitely going to make this one soon! I'm not getting zucchini from my garden yet, but it's so cheap at the farmers market right now, I can't resist! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope they go down as well in your household as they did in ours! It's incredible how much zucchini you can eat when it's covered in crunchy yum!

      Delete
  12. I adore zucchini and I adore dukkah, these look just gorgeous and are so inspired! Crispy and oven-baked? Just wow :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jas! Great to see you're as excited about these as I am!! The combination of soft zucchini and a dukkah crust really is something :)

      Delete
  13. Hi, Lisa! I just found your wonderful blog, thanks to Oh My Veggies - and so glad I did! These zucchini fries look fantastic! Your explanation of dukkah is super-informative, and it really does sound like a genius breading for zucchini. Mmmmmmm ... wish I was eating them this very moment!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shelley, lovely to meet you! Oh My Veggies is one of my favourite blogs :) I hope you get to try these zucchini fries. The crunchy dukkah is really amazing! Thanks for stopping by :)

      Delete
  14. i was excited to find out the recipe because they just look sooo good, but was disappointed to find out it calls for eggs. too bad/:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a shame Dawn but I'm sure these would work just as well without the egg. Perhaps if you made a light batter from flour and milk, or water, the dukkah should still stick. Oven baking really helps to keep them together too :)

      Delete
  15. I just found your recipe from a Pinterest pin. I had a very large globe courgette (I'm in the UK so I should say zucchini) which I used minus the softer middle bit and it worked like a treat.
    I see someone wanted not to use eggs in another message but can confirm that you can usually use yoghurt in place of eggs (plant based yog works too) to get a coating. It behave quite a bit like eggs.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nice Information. Thank you.
    Jaipur is truly a melting pot of cultures as well as cuisines.
    For more info Visit: Vegetarian Dishes in Jaipur you must eat

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your comments and feedback.

To leave a comment, please choose your profile account from the dropdown menu below. If you don't have a profile account, you can use the "Anonymous" option but please remember to sign your name at the end of your comment so I know who you are.

Thanks and hear from you soon!