Baked Zucchini Sticks with Sweet Onion Dip

MMMMmmmmmmm, this was DELICIOUS!!! First off, we did this as our side for the meal, but this would be a great appetizer, too. It's perfect for finger foods if you're looking for something healthy(er) and it even tastes great heated back up. So make A LOT because you're going to be craving some leftovers the next day. Trust me!!

I found the recipe for this here and decided I would go for it. Lucky for me we have a wonderful little produce stand right down the road from my house so I stopped on the way home and picked up 2 zucchini. It calls for 3 medium-sized zucchini. They want you to eat!!! I only used one because it was just the two of us and because we were using at as a side. This still made plenty for just us.

Here is one downside of this, however. The prep time for this is about an hour. Initially, you have to let the zucchini sit for an hour....just so you know. It's not a hard process just a little time consuming.

So here we go...

Baked Zucchini Sticks with Sweet Onion Dip
INGREDIENTS:
     1-3 medium sized zucchini (depends on how much you want. The other ingredients won't change much.)
     1 tbsp. salt
     1 cup Panko or bread crumbs
     1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
     1 tbsp. pizza seasoning or italian herbs
     2 large eggs

Sweet Onion Dip  
     1 tbsp. butter
     1 medium onion
     2 tbsp. cider vinegar
     2 tbsp. honey
     1 tbsp. prepared mustard
     1 cup mayo

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut each zucchini into 3" sticks about the diameter of your finger.

Photo Courtesy of: kingarthurflour.com

2. Put the zucchini sticks in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let them drain for about an hour. (I forgot to use the bowl, but mine still worked) While the zucchini are draining start working on the dip.

     a. melt butter in a medium-sized frying pan over moderate heat, and add 1 medium onion sliced.

     b. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion softens, and then caramelizes. When the onions are medium-brown remove them from the heat

     c. Put the onions, cider vinegar, honey, and prepared mustard into a food processor and process until fairly smooth. (I don't have a food processor, so I used my hand blender. It took a little longer, but it worked)

     d. Remove from processor and stir in the mayo. 

3. Rinse the zucchini to get rid of any excess salt. Then, pat them dry.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. and Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with olive oil. (I didn't have parchment paper so, I didn't use any. I just sprayed the baking sheet.)

5. Combine the Panko, parmesan, and pizza seasoning or italian herbs and mix until combined

6. Beat the eggs in order to make your egg wash.

7. Dip your zucchini sticks into the egg wash and then roll them in the bread crumbs. 

8. Place on the baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes. Remove them from the oven and turn them over. Bake for another 12-16 minutes or until golden brown. 

YUMMMMMMM!

Recipe courtesy of: kingarthurflour.com