Bite Of Minnesota: Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

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Does your family ever fight over the crispy edges of a casserole, especially when cheese is involved?

That's my husband's family, digging into the salty, crunchy ends whenever available. It explains why my husband is such a fan of my Ultimate Grilled Cheese, with cheese on both the inside and outside of the sandwich. We often make Parmesan cheese or blue cheese crisps, always intended to garnish a dish, but often eaten before even sitting down for the meal.

It seems my friend, Amanda Paa, also enjoys a cheese crisp, which is why she included a recipe for Zatar-Spiced Parmesan Zucchini Crisps in her new cookbook Smitten with Squash. Yep, it's a cookbook all about squash for every season with many recipes perfect for the fall weather.

Amanda was nice enough to let me share this recipe with you. It's incredibly easy to make and so rewarding in terms of flavor. Not a bad way to eat your veggies, right? Zatar seasoning is a Middle Eastern spice blend and can be found in the spice aisle or in a specialty market. Have a different seasoning blend? Go ahead and use it – the recipe is versatile.

Zatar-Spiced Parmesan Zucchini Crisps

makes 20 small crisps

1/2 cup zucchini shredded using coarse blade of a food processor (I used a cheese grater)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp zatar seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wrap zucchini in a paper towel and squeeze out excess moisture. Mix together all ingredients and drop spoonfuls of the mixture on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a Silpat mat. Gently flatten each mound with your finger and spread out a bit like snowflakes, leaving a little room in between the cheese shreds. This is the key to getting them thin and crispy. As the Parmesan melts, it will hold the crisps together.

Bake for about 8 minutes. The crisps should be sizzling and golden brown when you remove them from the oven. Allow crisps to settle on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a serving plate using a spatula. Crisps will firm up as they cool.