I LOVE FRESHLY BAKED BREAD, but try hard to resist it when I’m out to eat. What I really want is something to bridge the gap until my meal arrives and not fill me up so that I don’t have room for dessert! My local burger joint has the perfect solution – hot, salty, crunchy and healthy “green fries.” Somehow, when I tried making them myself, the addition of wasabi powder became a must.
1 pound green beans
¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
¼ teaspoon wasabi powder
Trim green beans, discard dry ends and/or stems and pat dry (this will reduce splattering oil when you fry them). Line plate with paper towel and set on counter next to burner.
Place oil in medium Dutch oven over high heat. When oil is hot, use tongs to place a small batch of beans in pot and quickly cover to avoid splattering oil. Give pot a shake every 10 seconds to ensure even cooking and fry a total of 30 seconds until beans are bright green and just soft. Remove from pot and place on paper towel. Repeat until all beans are cooked and pat with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
In separate bowl, combine salt and wasabi powder. Sprinkle over beans, toss to evenly coat and serve.
SERVES 4
VARIATIONS
Combine salt with other spices as desired. Some of my favorites are mustard powder, cumin, curry and even lemon zest. Combine with salt, sprinkle on veggies, toss and serve. In spring, this recipe is irresistible with asparagus spears. Carrot sticks are delicious too, but you’ll have to change name of the recipe!