Week 36 - Hooray for Gardens

I got back from the cruise to discover that the green bean plants I thought would be ready dead and ready to be pulled had actually produced a huge new harvest of fresh green beans. Since this is our only vegetable that really took off this year, I wanted to make the most of it by finding a new recipe for them since we've just been eating them as delicious raw snacks or with salads.

Having said that, we destroyed a bit of the "healthy, fresh" specialness of them by putting them in fritters. But they sounded good at the time and we had all the ingredients which was a big bonus.

I had never really had fritters but Brian said these were pretty good (as compared to the corn ones he's had in the past). They were not complex to make and extremely quick to fry but they were noticeably bland. I think that's probably how fritters are, but if I were to do them again as an appetizer or something I might try to add something to make them a bit more memorable. Maybe some kind of herb or something...

GREEN BEAN FRITTERS

Source: About.com

2 C. fresh green beans, cut in 1/4-inch pieces and cooked until crisp-tender - 1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour - 1 T. baking powder - 3/4 tsp. salt - 1 egg, beaten - 1 C. milk - Oil for deep frying

Heat oil in deep fryer to 370 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk egg with milk; stir in beans. Add bean mixture to dry ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into hot oil. Deep-fry in batches until golden brown, or for about 3-4 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain. Makes about 18-24 fritters.