Baked Green Bean Fries

As a child, there were a lot of things I refused to eat for no apparent reason. For example, tomatoes. If I ordered a salad at a restaurant, I always took out the cherry tomatoes and gave them to my mom. But thankfully, my taste buds have matured as an adult, and now I love all tomatoes, especially as a snack sprinkled lightly with sugar (my favorite way to eat them). I mentioned that I never ate cauliflower until recently. And it only took me until two years ago to fall in love with green beans.



While I was in Paris, I stayed at a hostel that made us Korean food for breakfast and dinner. Every meal was wonderful. There were side dishes and entrees that reminded me of home and then there were a few other dishes that I wasn't familiar with but I thought were still tasty. One dish that I particularly enjoyed was a simple stir fry of green beans, eggs, and ham. Before this, I had eaten only frozen green beans and hated it so I was baffled that I actually liked this dish. Then I realized that the green beans I was eating were fresh so no wonder!



For these fries, I had only half pound of green beans, so I used 1 egg and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs. I actually didn't even use the whole egg, so 2 will definitely be enough for a whole pound. I also dipped the beans into the breadcrumbs one by one instead of throwing everything into a ziploc bag to get even coverage on my fries. I'll have to mix in some spices next time to make these even tastier. And maybe try panko breadcrumbs too.

Baked Green Bean Fries
From Heather's Dish

1 lb fresh green beans, rinsed and with ends trimmed
3 eggs, whisked together
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Optional spices: chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, Greek seasoning, or your favorite spice!

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.

Add the breadcrumbs to a large ziploc bag, along with the salt and pepper and spices. Dump the green beans into the egg mixture and, using your hands, coat all of the beans with the egg. Add the coated beans to the ziploc bag, seal, and shake to coat with the breadcrumbs. If needed, add more breadcrumbs.

Turn out the contents of the bag onto the baking sheet and spread the beans evenly. Bake for 10 minutes, then gently turn the fries to evenly bake. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes until breadcrumbs are browned and crisp. Serve straight from the baking sheet with whatever sauces you like to dip in!

After baking let the beans cool a bit before piling on top of one another. This will keep them crisp and insure the breading stays on them!