Description
These crispy baked zucchini fries are a healthy, gluten-free, and lectin-free alternative to the classic snack. Easy to make, oven-baked, and served with a creamy garlic sauce—perfect as a side dish or appetizer.
Ingredients
For the zucchini fries
- 2 medium zucchini
- Salt & pepper, to season
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 sprig of green (spring) garlic, finely sliced, for garnish
Dry breading mix
- 3 tablespoons cassava flour
- 3 tablespoons tigernut flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Wet breading mix
- 3 pastured eggs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
Garlic sauce
- 3 small spring garlic sticks, chopped (or ~5 garlic cloves)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup hemp milk (or other compliant milk, avoid coconut)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or more, to taste)
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Peel the zucchini, slice each one in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon. Cut each half in two crosswise, then slice each piece into four sticks—about fry-sized. You should get around 32 sticks. Season them lightly with salt and pepper, and pat dry if needed.
- Prepare the breading station: in a shallow dish, mix together the cassava flour, tigernut flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with salt and pepper.
- Coat each zucchini stick in the dry mix, then dip it in the egg mixture, and coat again in the dry mix. Arrange the breaded sticks on the baking sheet. It helps to use two forks for this process to keep your hands cleaner.
- Drizzle the zucchini sticks with about one tablespoon of olive oil (or use an oil spray if you have) and bake for 15 minutes.
- While they bake, make the garlic sauce by blending the chopped garlic (or garlic cloves), olive oil, hemp milk, and apple cider vinegar until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a small bowl, combine 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 tablespoons of the garlic sauce—this will be used for brushing.
- After 15 minutes, remove the zucchini from the oven and brush each stick with the garlic-oil mixture on all sides. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5–7 minutes, until golden and crisp.
- Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with the sliced green garlic, and drizzle with more garlic sauce or serve it on the side as a dip. Enjoy while hot!
Notes
If you eat dairy and you want some extra umami flavor, feel free to add some grated parmesan cheese (real Parmigiano Reggiano) to the dry breading mix. You can also use different herb and spice mixes.
