Zucchini and the basics of frying

Well, it's that time of year again. My kitchen is overflowing with zucchini and tomatoes from my neighbors' gardens. Despite the fact that everyone has trouble getting rid of them, people continue to grow them both year after year. I'll talk about tomatoes tomorrow, but today I want to ask what do you do with your zucchini? There's the ever popular zucchini bread, but I prefer simpler, less time-consuming methods of preparation. Most of the time, I just shred it, marinate it in olive oil and garlic salt, and eat if raw. But if I want a real treat, I go for fried zucchini.

All basic, pan-fried foods are made by coating them with a breading and frying them in a small amount of oil in a skillet. This is the basic idea for frying zucchini.

The breading on pan fried foods usually requires 2-3 layers before putting it in the fat. The first layer is optional. It is simply coating the item in seasoned flour. Doing this has two effects. The first is that it dries out the item, so the egg layer sticks better. The second is that it makes the breading thicker and more flavorful.

After dipping the item in flour, you need to dip it in an egg-based liquid. Usually, it's egg mixed with a little water or milk. The egg layer acts as a glue to hold the breading onto the food. It will solidify when cooked, making it so that the grease does not soak into the food as much.

After dipping the food in the egg layer it's time to add the outer coating. Seasoned bread crumbs are great for this, but you can use flour, cracker crumbs, or cornmeal. When adding seasoning to the flour or crumbs, taste it before putting in on your food. Make sure it's a little more salty than you like so it has enough flavor for the egg and the food being fried.

It is often a good idea to let the food sit for a few minutes, up to an hour in the refrigerator, before frying. This helps the breading to dry out a little, which makes it hold together better in the pan. Then add oil to the skillet, enough to coat the bottom, and heat over medium high heat. The temperature will vary depending on the density and thickness of what you're frying. Zucchini slices are not very thick, and you don't want them to cook too much on the inside, so keep the heat as high as possible without making the oil smoke.

Cook the zucchini until golden brown and crispy on one side and flip over and cook the other side. Fried zucchini is best served hot and fresh. Here's a picture of the zucchini I had for breakfast yesterday.



I am allergic to egg, so I struggled for a long time trying to make a breading without egg. I finally discovered that if you make commercial egg replacer with a little less water than the directions call for, it makes a good substitute. So for these zucchini, I dipped it first in the egg replacer, then dipped in flour, seasoned with garlic salt and rosemary. The egg replacer was kind of foamy, so I had to kind of press the flour on it, but it worked just fine.

These breading directions can be applied to anything. This is the basics of frying everything from eggplant to chicken. The only difference is how much oil you use (for chicken pieces, you want about 1/4 to 1/2 inch) and the temperature of cooking. For very thick, dense things, like chicken or pork chops, brown the outside on medium to medium high heat, then cover and cook on low until done. Adjust the seasoning in the breading to fit your taste. Enjoy the creative process and enjoy the food.