Mac and Cheese Stuffed Fried Zucchini
Try this Mac and Cheese Stuffed Fried Zucchini recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Mac and Cheese Stuffed Fried Zucchini recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- toothpicks
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 pound elbow pasta
- 2 3/4 cups warm milk (i used 2%)
- 2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup fontina cheese shredded (add an extra 1/4 cup...if you want!)
- 1 1/4 cups havarti cheese shredded
- zucchini:
- 1 1/3 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 3 eggs beaten
- 3 medium zucchini sliced into 1/4 inch rounds*
- Carbohydrate 19.6046508312724 g
- Cholesterol 44.0439901430555 mg
- Fat 10.4483285933654 g
- Fiber 0.587170451991578 g
- Protein 10.5843330620545 g
- Saturated Fat 6.17814530926325 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -30 FRIED MAC AND CHEESE STUFFED ZUCCHINI SAMMIES (94g)
- Sodium 285.600594892415 mg
- Sugar 19.0174803792808 g
- Trans Fat 0.77293500635011 g
- Calories 214 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al-dente. Drain.
- In the same pot you boiled the pasta in, melt the 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook/bubble for 1 minute, stirring once or twice to avoid burning. Gradually whisk in the milk and raise the heat up to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently until the sauce has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in all of the cheese, mustard powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is fully melted. Stir in the pasta and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover the mac and cheese and refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight.
- In a shallow pie plate or bowl, toss together the parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, flour, salt and pepper. In another separate bowl whisk together the eggs.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place your zucchini rounds in stacks of two. Grab one zucchini round, now scoop out about 1 tablespoon of mac and cheese, place the mac and cheese on top of the bottom round. Now add the top round like you would a sandwich. You want the mac and cheese to just fit inside the rounds. Push down slightly on the top slice of zucchini to secure the mac and cheese in between the slices. Place on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining slices of zucchini. You will not use all of the mac and cheese.
- Using your hands grab one zucchini sandwich at a time and dip it into the eggs. Make sure to coat the sandwich fully in eggs. It''s gonna slip all over the place, but just do your best. Once the zucchini is coated in egg, stick a toothpick through the middle to secure everything in place. Dip the zucchini through the bread crumb mixture until completely coated all around. Make sure the mac and cheese that is not covered by zucchini gets coated as well. Place back on the baking sheet and repeat the process until all the zucchini sandwiches have been breaded. Place the tray in the fridge while you heat the oil. If it is hot in your kitchen and the mac and cheese seems warm, keep the zucchini in the fridge until the mac and cheese is firm again, about 30 minutes.
- Heat a few inches of oil (enough to submerge the zucchini's) in a heavy bottom high sided skillet or pot to 350 degrees F.
- Once hot, remove the zucchini's from the fridge and place only a few at time in the oil. Fry for for 1-2 minutes, flipping throughout cooking if need. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining zucchini sandwich. Eat while hot!
Swapping the standard yellow cheddar for a sharper aged white cheddar yields a sharper contrast against the mild summer squash. When managing large batches of vegetables, scaling this recipe requires careful attention to the roux and cheese ratios. Doubling the pasta and dairy means using a stockpot that holds at least eight quarts of water to prevent the elbow pasta from sticking during the initial boiling phase.
Managing Assembly and Frying Sequence
Chilling the formed zucchini sandwiches for at least 30 minutes at 35 degrees Fahrenheit stabilizes the dairy filling before it encounters hot fat. Maintain the frying oil precisely at 350 degrees Fahrenheit using a deep-fry thermometer; dropping the temperature below 325 degrees results in greasy, water-logged breading. Fry only three or four sandwiches simultaneously to prevent thermal shock in the oil.
- If the bread crumbs burn before the zucchini softens, lower the oil heat by 15 degrees.
- Secure each sandwich firmly with a wooden toothpick prior to the egg wash to prevent separation.
- Refrigerate leftover assembled bites for no longer than 24 hours before frying.
