Zucchini and Sweet Onion Dip

The Pinterest image that won my heart... 

As I browsed through Pinterest - I happened upon a recipe that bewitched me with its images. I needed to make it! Now, all day long I see pictures of food that makes me want to stuff my face, but these zucchini sticks looked divine enough to entice me into overcoming the lazy factor (unusual- to say the least).
And so I tied on that apron, pulled back my hair, poured myself a glass of wine and got cookin'...
The results were amazing! With a couple drawbacks I'll mention later. 

my cooking uniform

My sister said they were just, "Pretty good," as she shoveled more than her share into her mouth, Matt (husband) praised the dip to high heaven and probably would have dipped anything from the food pyramid in it and enjoyed himself! My brother was impressed with the battered zucchini and their glamorous appearance. I was taken away by the zucchini, thrilled with the flavor combos in the dip (pretty rich though) and excited about how visually appealing they looked in real life. I also loved that they were baked not fried! This is especially important because the dip calls for an ample amount of mayo (just don’t think about it).  The drawbacks: Time consuming, SO messy, cutting the zucchini perfectly was IMPOSSIBLE!

caramelizing smelled AMAZING

Dip

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium sweet onion, about 1/2 pound, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• salt and pepper to taste

Zucchini sticks

• 3 medium zucchini, unpeeled, cut into 3"-long stick
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• scant 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs or pizza seasoning
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup egg substitute; or 2 large eggs; or 3 egg whites, lightly beaten\

Directions

dipping the zucchini

1) To make the dip: Melt the butter in a medium frying pan over moderate heat, and add the sliced onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, then caramelize. This should take between 10 and 15 minutes. The lower the heat, the longer it takes, but the less likely you are to burn the onions.

2) Once the onions are a medium brown, remove from the heat and add the vinegar.

3) Place the onions and vinegar into a small food processor. Add the honey and mustard, and process or blend until smooth (I doubled the sauce recipe cause we’re big dippers).

4) Add the mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve (I replaced the second cup of mayo with sour cream – not as thick – and I thought it might not be as fattening, is it?).

5) To make the zucchini sticks: Place the zucchini sticks in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with the tablespoon of salt. Let the zucchini drain for 1 hour or longer; rinse and pat dry (Must, must do this).

6) Combine the Panko, Parmesan, and pizza seasoning; set aside (I also added Asiago and Romano cheese because their flavors are amazing – didn’t measure how much of course).

7) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, and spray the parchment with olive oil.

8) Dredge sticks a few at a time in the egg, then roll in the crumb mixture. Place the sticks on the prepared baking sheet.

9) Bake sticks for 12 minutes, turn over, and bake for an additional 8 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

10) Serve immediately, with sweet onion dip.

Yield: about 3 dozen zucchini sticks, and 1 1/2 cups dip. 

Finished Product!!!

The original recipe was from King Arthur Flour Company.