BAKED PANKO & PARMESAN CRUSTED ZUCCHINI

I never know what to make with zucchini. I’m always tempted to buy them when they’re fresh at the store and then they’ll sit languishing in my fridge until I finally pull them out and turn them into..soup. Nothing wrong with zucchini soup, but I constantly feel like I’m undermining their potential. I can count in one hand the number of dishes I use them in which is quite a shame, really. (We’re really into these latkes though).

A few years ago, spaghetti arrabbiata with fried eggplant on the side was on weekly rotation at our house. I would make and freeze the arrabbiata sauce in mammoth batches to feed our insatiable appetite for it, but what really made those meals special though, was the eggplant. I improvised the ratios over time but it was pretty standard – dredge in flour, egg wash, then coat in a breadcrumb mixture and fry. I would use regular breadcrumbs (not panko) and spike it with chilli flakes, garlic granules, whatever struck my fancy at the time. I never used parmesan, and it was always shallow-fried in a pan. This meal memory struck me at a random moment a few weeks ago (as it does, right?), and I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about revisiting it since.

Zucchini sounded like a poor substitute to mimic the meatiness of eggplant, but hoo boy was it good! This recipe is more hands-off too with no frying of any sort involved. A bit fiddly admittedly with all the dredging and dunking, but it honestly doesn’t take more than a few minutes of mindless/ful activity to assemble. The parmesan imparts deep savouriness that salt alone wouldn’t provide, but more importantly, the fats in the cheese are what contribute to that burnished golden crumb when baked. Oh also, also, they colour on both sides with no flipping necessary. Hallelujah!