Pan-Fried Flour-Dredged Zucchini

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather your ingredients. This dish is best made with tender young zucchini that have almost no seeds and very soft, delicate skin. You can, of course, use more mature zucchini if you like — just peel them and scoop out the seedy core — but in the finished dish they won't be quite as good as young ones. Wash the zucchini and dry them on a cotton towel. Trim off both ends.

2. Step 2:

   

   Cut the zucchini into rounds no more than 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle the rounds with salt and put them in a bowl, then drain off the liquid they release. Put some wheat flour on a plate and dredge the zucchini rounds in it, shaking off the excess.

3. Step 3:

   

   Pour vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed skillet and heat it up. Lay the floured zucchini rounds in the hot oil. Sprinkle with ground pepper if you like — no need to add more salt, since the zucchini already soaked up plenty. Fry over medium heat until golden on one side.

4. Step 4:

   

   Then flip and fry the second side. If the rounds came out thick and seem underdone — like they'll be crunchy in the finished dish — cover the pan and hold the zucchini a few more minutes so they cook through inside without burning outside.

5. Step 5:

   

   Transfer the zucchini to a paper-towel-lined plate so the excess oil soaks in and the finished dish isn't too greasy. Do the same with the rest of the batch. Scatter pressed garlic over the hot zucchini, or stir minced garlic into a sauce to serve alongside. Serve the fried zucchini with sour cream, mayonnaise, or any sauce you like. Enjoy!