Don't Back Down

One of my favorite veggies (or fruits, perhaps - I'll leave that argument for you) is the zucchini. Of course, it's probably because I usually fry it. But I still really like those zukes. This simple recipe is not only easy to make, it's messy fun and it doesn't require much in the way of fancy preparation.

Start with the zucchini. Slice them into whatever size chunks you'd like to eat. I typically create thin cross-slices, but you could just as easily make chunks or slice it long-wise. For our family of four, about a zuke and a half does the trick. One is too little and two is often too much.

Next, grab the milk. I typically use whatever milk we have in the fridge, which often means skim. The boys drink whole milk too, so we have also used that (the picture above was in fact made using whole milk), and we even may have some buttermilk from time to time, and that works too. Drop your pieces of zucchini into the milk.

Now the mess begins. Find a container of some sort. We've tried plates, we've used bowls, even ziploc bags work (make sure you zip them). Fill the container with a good amount of flour. It doesn't have to be fancy - the regular all-purpose variety does just fine. Once you've got that container ready, take the mlik-covered pieces of your zucchini and drop them in. Make sure to coat the pieces well - so stir, shake, shimmy or whatever else it takes to get a good solid coating.

Lest you think we're done, the mess has only just begun. These zukes are only half ready for their hot oil bath. Speaking of which, you should probably get that oil going. We use a fry daddy, but you could just as easily use oil in a pan or any other preferred method of frying.

Find another container and load it up with bread crumbs. We buy ours in a cylinder from Aldi. I think they are Italian Style, but it doesn't matter much. We like the crunch they offer. You could also make your own crumbs, or even just fry at this point.

Assuming you're in this for the crunch like we are, take your (hopefully) well-covered pieces out of the flour container, dip them in the milk, then put them into the new container, filled with those bread crumbs. We've found that you probably don't want to take the group approach here - the pieces of zucchini get stuck together and you don't get good coverage of the bread crumbs.

You can start frying as they come out of the crumbs, or you can start layng out your zukes on a towel or something to wait their turn. Regardless, when the oil is ready and you're getting hungry, drop those coated babies in the oil. If you're using a pan, you only need maybe a minute per side - the coating should be nice and brown. If in a fry daddy or similar device, they will float easily to the surface.

Place on towels to drain some of that fat off, let cool, and eat away. Dips optional. Enjoy!