This Tasty Fried Veggie Is The Perfect Stand-In For Eggplant In Your Next Parmesan Dish

Fried eggplant is a terrific substitute for poultry in a chicken parm for our vegetarian friends, but it's also generally the only option available. The vegetable succeeds as a chicken swap because it allows it to stand up to the rich sauce and cheese slathered over the dish. Yet for some reason, folks don't often venture into using other types of produce that might offer similar results. 

That's a shame, according to chef Luca Corazzina. When The Takeout spoke with Corazzina, the chef de cuisine at Olio e Piu in Chicago, he raved about another vegetable that can be used to make a veggie parm, and it's just what people need to break themselves out of an eggplant parmesan rut.

Corazzina said folks craving something different should look to fried zucchini as an alternative to the typical eggplant. "Zucchini is my favorite go-to vegetable for a vegetarian parm," he said. "It has a naturally meaty texture and really holds up well when layered, making it perfect for building a parmigiana." Getting the foundation right is crucial, but the overall process of preparing the dish is nearly identical to making an eggplant parmesan.

Cooking a fried zucchini parmesan isn't all that different from preparing its eggplant counterpart, but there is one key detail that can make or break the dish. Whether you're grilling it, roasting it, or turning it into noodles, soggy zucchini never makes for an appetizing bite. Chef Luca Corazzina advised us that preventing it from becoming mushy comes down to cutting it to the correct size. "I would recommend slicing the zucchini lengthwise at about ¼-inch thickness," he said. "This allows it to stay substantial and still flavorful."

Once the zucchini is cut to the appropriate thickness, the process of frying it is almost indistinguishable from using eggplant. Dredge in flour, egg, and a breadcrumb mixture containing parmesan cheese and panko, and fry each side until you achieve an appetizing golden-brown exterior. Cutting it too thick could make cooking it through more difficult, but that would be a better problem to have than the alternative. "If sliced too thin, the zucchini can lose its texture, release too much moisture, and disappear into the dish rather than standing on its own," Corazzina said. Just like any other versatile use for the vegetable, like air fryer zucchini fries, perfection starts with ensuring that it is appropriately sized so that cooking it doesn't destroy its somewhat delicate structure.