crispy zucchini + whipped ricotta sandwich 🥪

you need to make this immediately

hi hi! happy sunday! except sorry that this is probably going to go out early monday morning because it’s late sunday night here in LA and I don’t want to be sending out a 2am email to you all (it’s 11 here lol). ANYWAY, hope you all had a great weekend! I did some hiking, sat on some patios and ate lots of delicious food (basically what I do every weekend). the weather has been VERY warm here so no complaints! I also dyed my hair red so I feel like me again :)

my friend who’s here visiting has a golden retriever who LOVES to swim, so she’s been renting a pool once in a while for us to hang and swim with the dog. we went last sunday and I wanted to make something to bring, which is where these sandwiches come in. I often get recipe inspiration from seeing food that restaurants post on instagram and that’s how this crispy zucchini ricotta sandwich happened. we’ve got crispy zucchini slices which I did in the same style as my chicken cutlets, and then we assemble the sandwiches with lemony whipped ricotta, dressed arugula, roasted red pepper and pesto. oh AND I decided to be really ambitious and make it on homemade sourdough focaccia bread, which was actually easier than I expected. this sandwich was truly 10/10 and I highly recommend you make it! ENJOY BBs.

crispy zucchini + whipped ricotta sandwiches

• 1 large zucchini, sliced in half and then lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips

• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 1/4 cup cornstarch or tapioca starch

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• fresh black pepper

• 1 egg, whisked

• avocado oil, for frying

• 1 container whole milk ricotta

• zest + juice of 1/2 lemon

• a few large handfuls of arugula

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4 slices roasted red pepper

• 1/2 cup pesto (store bought or homemade)

• focaccia or bread of choice — I used this sourdough focaccia recipe and it turned out PERFECT!

start by setting up your zucchini dredging stations: whisk the egg in one small bowl, then grab another bowl and add your panko, cornstarch, garlic + onion powders, sea salt + black pepper. whisk until combined. take a zucchini slice and dip it first into the egg until evenly coated, and then into the panko mixture. gently press the panko into the zucchini slice until it’s evenly covered. repeat with remaining zucchini slices and place them all on a piece of parchment.

heat 1 inch of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium. once hot, place a few zucchini slices in a single layer into the oil. let cook on one side for about 4-5 minutes until the underside is golden brown, then carefully flip each piece and let cook on the other side for another 4-5 minutes. remove and place on a wire rack, then repeat with remaining zucchini slices. sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.

meanwhile, place your ricotta in a blender with the zest of 1/2 your lemon and a big pinch of sea salt. blend until smooth and creamy, then remove and place in a ziploc bag with the corner cut off for piping (you can also just skip this and spread it if you prefer!)

in a small bowl, add your arugula and dress with 1 tbsp olive oil, the juice of 1/2 your lemon and a generous amount of salt and pepper. mix until arugula is coated.

when ready to assemble sandwiches, slice your bread of choice in half. pipe an even layer of ricotta on one side, then top with 2 slices of crispy zucchini, a handful of arugula and a slice of roasted red pepper. spread pesto generously on the other side of the bread and place on top, then wrap tightly in parchment and slice in half. serve right away!

*note: if you don’t want to serve these right away, keep everything separate and heat the zucchini before eating to re-crisp it if desired.

makes 4 sandwiches

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have a great week! xx