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Peixinhos da Horta (Deep Fried Battered Beans)

Peixinhos da Horta (Deep Fried Battered Beans) is a traditional Portuguese recipe for a classic deep fried starter or snack of green or French beans in batter. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Portuguese version of: Deep Fried Battered Beans (Peixinhos da Horta).

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesBean RecipesPortugal Recipes

Peixinhos de horta is a classic Portuguese recipe for a dish of green beans coated in a light batter and deep fried. The Portuguese introduced this dish into Japan in the 1540s and it forms the culinary basis for Japanese tempura. The name literally translates as 'little fish from the garden'.

The version presented here is the traditional green bean form, but today many more vegetables are cooked in this manner, such as carrots, sweet potateos, leeks and beets. It is best to serve these quickly, as soon as they are out of the deep fryer so they maintain their crispy texture.

Ingredients:

500g green beans or French beans
Lemon juice
100g plain flour
200ml sparkling water (or lager-style beer)
1 egg
gererous pinch of salt
freshly-grated nutmeg
Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Top and tail the baens and remove the strings. If using flat green beans slice each bean in half lengthways. Bring a small pan of wate to a boil, add a generous squeeze of lemon juice and boil the beans for 3-4 minutes (this helps them maintain theig green colour). Drain the beans then set aside in a a bowl as you prepare the batter.

Sift the flour into a bowl then whisk in the salt and nutmeg, followed by the egg. Now work in the sparkling water to yield a smooth batter.

Take a deep pan and add in a 3cm depth of oil. Place over medium-high heat and when the oil is hot take two or three beans at a time and dip in the batter then carefully drop into the hot oil.

Fry until the batter is golden brown, remove with a spider or a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Eat as a snack with beer or as a starter with drinks.