Polenta-crumbed zucchini

April 25, 2013

I always forget that Jennifshmoo's tofu fish stick recipe makes a lot more crumbing than you need for a 500g block of tofu. Rather than just trot out more tofu, I hypothesised that it might suit zucchini slices. 

It really does! I fried, rather than baked, the zucchini to keep the cooking quick and the zucchini thick and juicy. The crumbs adhered pretty well to start, but got a little delicate when it was time for flipping and transferring to a plate. Most importantly of all, these were awesome with tartare sauce.

Polenta-crumbed zucchini
(adapted from Jennifershmoo's tofu fish sticks)

1/3 cup hazelnuts
1/3 cup polenta
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
a few grinds of pepper
1/3 cup soy milk
peanut oil, for frying
2 large zucchinis

Grind the hazelnuts to a coarse powder in a food processor. Transfer them to a medium bowl or shallow dish and stir in the polenta, paprika, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, dill and pepper. 

Pour the soy milk in to a separate shallow dish. Slice the zucchinis lengthways into relatively flat rectangles.

Pour a generous slosh of oil into a frypan and set it over medium-high heat. Dip each zucchini slice into the soy milk, then dump it in the crumbing to coat (I use one hand for milk and the other for crumbs to minimise mess) and drop it in the frypan. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden, and transfer finished zucchini slices to absorbent paper or a serving plate. You'll probably need to work in 2-3 batches to get all that zucchini through your frypan.

Serve zucchini slices with tartare sauce.