Kitchen Garden Journal

Beer-Battered Zucchini with Spicy Marinara

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Published on Monday, August 09, 2010, 12:24

Written by Tim Wilcox

2 lbs summer squash, cut into the shape of french fries
1 cup flour, more or less
1 lager beer
1 tsp salt
canola oil for frying

Mix the flour, beer, and salt together to form a thin batter.  Heat about ¼ inch of oil in your favorite skillet. Coat the squash sticks in batter and add to the oil in batches, flipping as necessary to crisp all sides. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Serve as an appetizer with drinks.

Greek-Style Spicy Marinara
3 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 hot chili pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 pint tomato puree
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt

Heat the oil in the pan you use for tomato sauce. Saute the garlic briskly until it just starts to brown, add the chilies and stir briefly without inhaling. Add the puree, lemon, oregano and salt and bring to a simmer. Cook it 5-10 minutes until it thickens slightly.

Cheater’s version: Combine 1 pint tomato puree in a bowl with 2 Tbsp chunky Sriracha chili-garlic sauce (the one with the green screw top), lemon juice, oregano and salt and serve directly. This is how we made it last Wednesday at farm crew lunch and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We had some leftover batter so we decided to make onion rings as well with our sweet tropea onions. Wow were those ever good.