Green Bean Fries

We are definitely trying to eat somewhat healthier these days - My plan was to have some healthy steamed green beans with dinner...but when I saw this recipe online, those plans quickly changed! What I've done here is taken a perfectly good nutritious vegetable - smothered it in bread crumbs and threw them in piping hot grease until crisped to perfection. It seemed so wrong...but at the same time it was just so right! They were absolutely delicious! Its going to be hard for me not to do this with every vegetable that enters our house now! These green beans are crispy on the outside and tender, but yet still have a bit of crunch on the inside.

 I've always been good with eating my vegetables...but I've never seen them to be the first on my plate to be eaten until the other night! So if your tired of the same old green beans or the usual boring bland cauliflower on your plate - make sure to try out this recipe for all of your favorite veggies and I'm positive you won't regret it!

I didn't end up making the ranch dip recipe on the website that goes with these beans - I just ended up using Ranch salad dressing for dipping and it was really good! But I'll post it anyway incase some of you would like to give it a try. One important note I'll leave you all with is that these are VERY time consuming! When it says the prep time is 1 hour 15 minutes...they mean it! I ended up getting them done in 1 hour...so just make sure you give yourself enough time to prep everything and cook these before your dinner.

So before you get started here are the ingredients you'll need:

For the Beans

• 
  
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder teaspoon garlic powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Kosh er salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying

For the dip

• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup peeled, seeded,chopped cucumber
• 1 tablespoon horseradish, drained
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons wasabi powder (found in the spice aisle or with the Asian foods)
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt

Directions

Make the dip: Puree the dressing, cucumber, horseradish, milk, vinegar, wasabi powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste in a blender until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

1. Prepare the beans by trimming off the ends. Fill a large bowl with ice water.

 2. Bring the broth to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the green beans and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 

 3. Remove the beans with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice water to stop the cooking. Let cool in the water, then drain and pat dry.

4.Whisk the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Put 1/2 cup flour in another shallow bowl. Combine the breadcrumbs, the remaining 1/2 cup flour, the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste in another bowl.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the green beans in the flour and shake off the excess. One at a time, dip the beans in the egg mixture, dredge in the breadcrumb mixture and lay on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze until the coating is set, about 30 minutes.

6. Heat 3 inches oil in a deep pot over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Fry the green beans in batches until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the beans with tongs or a skimmer to a rack or paper towels to drain. Serve with the dip.

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did! Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!