Fried Cacuzza
Fried Cacuzza. Italian cacuzza squash cut into wheels, breaded, and fried until golden brown.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 400kcal
Cost: $$
Ingredients
- 1 cacuzza 24-36 inches or 4 zucchini
- 4-6 eggs
- 2-3 cups plain breadcrumbs
- 2-3 cups canola oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. fried oregano
Instructions
Preparing the Cacuzza:
- Begin by washing and peeling the cacuzza. Next, cut the cacuzza into ¼ inch thick wheels and discard the ends.
- Next, in a large bowl add the 2 cups of breadcrumbs, salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano and mix.
- In another bowl whisk 4 eggs to form an egg wash. For each cacuzza piece, coat with egg and then dredge in the bread crumbs.
- Repeat this process until all of the cacuzza is breaded. Use additional eggs and breadcrumbs as needed.
Frying the Cacuzza:
- In a large skillet add 2 cups of canola oil and bring to a high heat.
- Next, add in enough cacuzza pieces to fill the pan and fry on both sides until golden, about 2 minutes per side (4-5 minutes total), ensuring not to crowd the skillet.
- Remove the cacuzza and set aside on paper towels to drain. Repeat this process until all of the cacuzza is fried. Use additional canola oil as needed.
To Serve:
- The fried cacuzza is best served as an appetizer with marinara sauce.
Notes
Invent Your Recipe:
In this recipe I decided to try something different and fry up some pieces of cacuzza. I really had no idea if this would work. I knew that eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash fry up nicely. However, I did not know if cacuzza, which is technically a gourd, would fry up well.
My concern was the water content of the cacuzza. I typically cook the cacuzza as a stew (see this recipe) and when I do this, there is a lot of liquid that is released from the cacuzza. So, with that as my only reference point, I figured the cacuzza would not fry well and just kind of fall apart. To my surprise I was wrong.
In fact, the cacuzza fried up better than zucchini and summer squash does. The cacuzza held its form just as well as eggplant. Maybe even a bit better.
This recipe uses plain breadcrumbs and egg to form the coating. You can definitely use seasoned breadcrumbs, and probably even flour or corn meal to form the coating.
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal