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Plate of huli huli zucchini with crispy chickpeas

Brain healthy recipe: huli huli zucchini with crispy chickpeas

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Plate of huli huli zucchini with crispy chickpeas

Huli Huli Zucchini with Crispy Chickpeas

This brain healthy recipe comes from Alana Kysar's new book, Aloha Veggies. I had the pleasure of meeting Alana during a recent book signing in Chinatown on O'ahu. She told me about how dementia had touched her own family and how she hopes to make healthy eating accessible to more people.
Alana's recipes demonstrate that brain healthy eating doesn't just mean a Mediterranean diet. Many traditional Hawaiian ingredients and cooking methods are also delicious and brain healthy. 
This recipe makes use of the abundance of zucchini that fills our gardens and grocery stores in summer. Huli huli, which translates to "turn turn" is typically made with chicken basted with Hawai'i-style BBQ sauce and turned while grilling and basting. Zucchini makes a delicious stand-in for the chicken and the recipe can be used as a main or side dish. 
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Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 large zucchini
  • salt ideally kosher
Crispy Chickpeas
  • 2 15.5oz/440g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbsp potato starch
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp salt ideally kosher
  • 1 tsp ground sesame seeds
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Huli Huli Sauce
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or shoyu for gluten free, use tamari or GF soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 in piece fresh ginger peeled and finely grated
  • 1 clove garlic finely grated
To Finish
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced on a bias

Method
 

  1. Position racks in the top and bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F (220˚C). Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.
  2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and score the cut sides with a crosshatch pattern to create more surface for the salt to penetrate and later for the sauce to seep into. Sprinkle the cut sides with salt and let it sit for 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the crispy chickpeas: Place the chickpeas into a bowl and pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Add the potato starch, garlic powder, salt, sesame seeds, and pepper and toss with your hands or a wooden spoon to coat them evenly. Drizzle on the olive oil and sesame oil and toss to coat again. Pour the chickpeas onto one of the lined sheet pans and roast on the upper rack for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and crispy.
  4. To make the huli huli sauce: In a bowl, whisk together the ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and grated garlic. Set aside.
  5. To finish: In a large skillet, heat the neutral oil over medium-high heat until shiny. Pat the zucchini dry with paper towels, then place them cut-side down and cook untouched for 5 minutes.
  6. Carefully transfer the zucchini to the remaining prepared sheet pan, cut-side down, and brush the huli huli sauce all over the skin side.Roast on the lower rack for 5 minutes. Flip the zucchini over, brush with more huli huli sauce, and roast for another 5 minutes cut-side up. (By now the chickpeas should be ready to come out of the oven.) Take the chickpeas out and turn on your broiler. Brush more sauce onto the cut side of the zucchini, put the zucchini: on the upper rack, and broil on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until caramelized.
  7. To serve, place the zucchini on a plate, cut-side up, sprinkle on the crispy chickpeas, and garnish with the green onions.

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