Oven “Fried” Zucchini Sticks with Horseradish Dipping Sauce

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Brush a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil; set aside.

Trim ends from zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each piece in half crosswise, then cut each piece lengthwise into 2-3 wedges. Try and keep the pieces about the same size.

Combine the flour, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper in a shallow bowl.

In a separate shallow bowl, beat egg and water.

Combine the Italian bread crumbs, Panko bread crumbs and cheese on a piece of waxed paper or in a shallow bowl (a glass pie plate works great for this).

These zucchini sticks are coated in a 3 step method: flour, egg, then bread crumbs. Dip each zucchini stick in the flour mixture, coating all the sides. Tap off any excess flour. Dip each stick in the egg mixture, letting any excess drip off, then roll them in the bread crumb mixture, coating all sides of each stick and lightly pressing the crumbs onto surface.

Place the sticks, cut side down, on the prepared pan in a single layer with space between each piece. Drizzle all the wedges with remaining 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil (depending on the size of the zucchini you’re using, you may need a little more oil). You don’t want the wedges coated with oil-use a light hand. The oil sprinkled on the top will allow browning to begin while the surface touching the bottom of the pan browns.

Bake at 425ºF for 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven, flip each stick so that the second cut side is facing down on the pan. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes more, or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven; turn so that the skin side is down on the pan. Return to the oven and bake for 3–5 minutes more or until golden brown.

While zucchini is baking, make the horseradish dipping sauce. In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and mayonnaise. Stir in horseradish, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve zucchini sticks immediately upon removing them from the oven with the dipping sauce on the side.

Note: The zucchini is also wonderful oven “fried” in slices. Slice zucchini 1/4-1/2-inch thick. Omit dipping in the seasoned flour mixture. Dip each slice in the beaten egg wash, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place on the pan prepared as for the zucchini sticks. Drizzle the tops with oil. Bake at 425ºF for 5–7 minutes; flip each slice over, return to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.