Easy Zucchini Fries + Homemade Aioli

Yesterday was... a lazy day for me. I went to brunch with a friend, church with another friend, and just chilled in between. Last night when dinner rolled around I realized I hadn't gone to the grocery store and the only thing to eat in my apartment was oddly enough, a zucchini about to go bad. What do you do when you have a zucchini about to go bad? You made zucchini fries!!! It's literally the only non-staple ingredient you need for this entire recipe, and it works for people like me who still don't have an air fryer (but if you're living in the 21st century and do have an air fryer like (seemingly) everyone else, this is even easier for you!)

Here's what I did: 

Baked Zucchini Fries

Ingredients: 

1 zucchini

2 eggs

Flour (less than 1/4 cup) 

Panko (I didn't measure but probs used about 1/3-1/2 cup)

Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning (but I didn’t have that so I just used a couple tsp dried thyme and dried basil)

To get started, preheat your oven to 425 and spray a cooling rack. I used avocado oil spray! You'll want to use a cooling rack (over top of a baking sheet) because it gets the fries crispier than if they were just sitting on a regular pan (more airflow this way!)

You'll need three bowls for this-- one for flour, one for the eggs, and one for the dried mix!

It's a simple three-step process: after you've cut up your zucchini, whisk together 2 eggs in a bowl, add flour to another bowl, and in your third bowl, mix together your panko breadcrumbs, seasonings, and parmesan cheese. I just eyeballed everything!

Roll each piece of zucchini in flour, dip in the egg wash, and then press into the dried mix on all sides.

I baked my fries for 22-25 minutes and then broiled for 3-5 minutes additionally.

 Finish with a squeeze of lemon over top of the fries when they come out, and serve immediately with the aioli below. Seriously so delicious. Could serve 2-3 (I couldn't eat all of them!)

Lemon Garlic Aioli

While they were baking, I knew I wanted to make a homemade aioli to go with them, because aioli is *very* important to me. Here's what I did for a simple (but outstanding) homemade aioli: 

mix together the following: 

Ingredients: 

lemon juice

mayo

minced fresh garlic (I used one clove)

garlic powder

cayenne powder

salt and pepper

add as much lemon juice/mayo as desired for your ideal consistency! I used probably a bit over 1 tbsp of mayo and the juice of a quarter-ish of a lemon? I didn't measure anything but it turned out sooo. good.

xoxo