Zucchini Chips
Zucchini Chips, also known as Fried Zucchini
Zucchini Chips are a popular appetizer in Italian households. They are easy to make and can easily be reheated to enjoy day after day.
Growing up, my parents made sure we had a home-cooked meal every night. The meals were mostly something that took time to cook and were always carefully thought of. We never had the same meal within a week and it was always changing and always delicious. As an adult, I have no clue how my parents found the energy to cook a full meal every night after a long day of work. My parents both worked hard labor jobs where they had to leave the house by 5 AM. I can’t even get myself out of bed at 7, I’m not sure how they did it and every day I think of it the more grateful I am for what they did.
Now that we live so far from home, all I ever think of are those meals they made every day after I got home from grade school, college, and my part time jobs. The aroma that would fill the home, some times I could smell it before I even walked into the door. So now of course I want it all and since mom does not live 10 minutes down the road from me, I have to figure out how to make it on my own. Thankfully my amazing fiancé is up for the challenge of me trying to recreate mom’s amazing dishes.
Recently on a grocery trip, I came by gorgeous zucchini. It was on sale and there was so many! I looked at them and said to Dan “I know exactly what to make with these!”. We have a freezer full of my moms frittata we brought back with us on our trip home, so I knew I was craving something just a little different.
Summer holidays were always guaranteed to have delicious fried zucchini chips on the table. Since I missed celebrating the 4th of July with my family this year, I have been extra craving them! And when I saw those zucchini’s in the store, my brain and stomach agreed that yes I needed those fried zucchini chips in my life and I needed them now!
The recipe is easy and after making it, you’ll wonder what other vegetable you can fry. The batter can be seasoned to your liking too such as paprika, onion powder, or garlic powder.
Also, depending on how many zucchinis you cut up or how big they are, the amount of batter will vary. For my recipe I used two smaller zucchinis, sliced them by hand thin, and dipped them in batter.
The batter consistency should be like pancake batter, sticky that when you run a utensil through, it will coat the utensil. Make sure to break any flour clumps in the batter so that when someone bites into one of these after cooking, they aren’t left with a chunk of flour in their mouth.
Zucchini Chips
Ingredients:
1-2 zucchini
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (optional)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Recipe:
Thinly slice the zucchini. This can be completed with a sharp knife or a vegetable slicer.
Mix together flour, salt, black pepper together. Mix in water slowly to the flour mix as you stir.
In a medium sauce pan, fill 1/4 full with canola oil. Turn heat on to high to 270 degrees. While the oil is heating, prepare your area. Place 2 paper towel sheets on a large plate.
Once oil is to the temperature, begin dunking the zucchini slices into the batter and thoroughly coat both sides.
Carefully place battered zucchini slices into the oil either by hand or placing it on a slotted spoon then placing into the oil.
Fill the pan with as many as you can. They will eventually gravitate towards each other but they can easily be separated with a spoon or when you flip them.
Let them simmer in the oil for about 6 minutes or until golden brown on one side. With a slotted spoon or tong, flip them onto the other side for about another 6 minutes or until golden brown.
Once cooked to a light, golden brown color, remove from oil onto the plate with paper towels.
Continue the above steps until all the zucchini have been cooked.
Discard any remaining oil and batter.
I like to allow the cooked zucchini to remain on the paper towel to soak off any extra oil. When I place them into a container or plate to serve, I will also line it with paper towel to continue soaking up excess oil. I feel this helps the zucchini chips do not become soggy as they sit on the plate, if they remain on the plate that long.
Any extra zucchini chips can be refrigerated for 2-3 days and reheated in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. When reheating in the oven, I like to place them on a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or aluminum foil. No need to spray or coat the paper or foil before placing the zucchini chips! The extra oil in the chips will come out as they reheat.