Testing out a restaurant dish at home never seems to pan out quite right. But there’s this restaurant called Eat that I’m a huge fan of, and they offers these scrumptious zucchini shreds instead of hash browns– and I had to try making them at home. I needed them.

I’m so glad I did. It’s actually an incredibly easy substitute for hash browns, which I never seem to get right when I make from scratch and always feel a twinge of guilt when I prep from frozen.

An awesome alternative to the played out potato side dish, zucchini is low in saturated fat and sodium, and very low in cholesterol, according to Self Magazine’s nutritional database, which notes that a large amount of zucchini’s calories come from sugars.  It is also a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin (B1), niacin (B3) , phosphorus, and copper, as well as a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, riboflavin (B2), vitamin B6, folate (B9) , magnesium, potassium and manganese.

Here’s how simple this is. I take a non-stick pan and put in a few drops of olive oil or a pat of butter substitute and let the pan warm up over the flame. (I don’t use butter. Country Crock ® Calcium plus Vitamin D is my go-to with 0g trans fat per serving and no hydrogenated oils, or I love to grab Earth Balance if it’s on sale, which is vegan, gluten-free, lactose free, and non-GMO.) A single smallish to medium zucchini make a nice sized serving for me, if you have guests, assume about one small squash per person. Give the zucchini a washing and then take a more coarse cheese grater, the guy with the big holes not the little ones, and rake the zucchini over it until it’s gone. It seems gruelling at first, but it only takes a minute once you get some momentum going.  Toss the raw zucchini shreds into the waiting pan and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until a slight golden crisp starts to appear and the green hue deepens, about five minutes or so. That’s it.

The restaurant serves them with a dollop of sour cream. At home, I did the same with fat free sour cream and I was absolutely thrilled with my restaurante dupe. What dish do you love when you dine out that you wish you could try at home?  — Casandra Armour