Wild Thyme – Oven-Baked Green Bean Fries

Oven-Baked Green Bean Fries

Ingredients

1 pound green beans
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup yellow cornmeal (not coarse-ground polenta)

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 450°F. Line 1 large or 2 medium rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Trim and rinse the green beans, letting them drip-dry in a strainer or colander so a bit of moisture is retained; set aside.

Whisk the flour with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl; set aside. Beat the eggs and milk together in a second wide, shallow bowl; set aside.

Stir the panko and oil together in a third large, wide bowl until the panko has absorbed the oil. Stir in the cornmeal and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt.

Toss the green beans in the flour until they are evenly and lightly coated, then shake off excess flour in the colander or strainer.

Dip a handful of green beans into the egg to coat, then toss in the panko. Transfer to the baking sheet(s). Repeat until all the green beans are coated.

Bake until the green beans are crisp and golden-brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Whole Roasted Garlic

• Prep time:5 minutes
• Cook time:30 minutes

Ingredients

One or more whole heads of garlic.

Drizzle of Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1 Preheat your oven to 400°F (205° C).

2 Peel and discard the papery outer layers of the whole garlic bulb, leaving intact the skins of the individual cloves of garlic. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/4 to a 1/2 inch from the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

3 Place the garlic heads in a baking pan, cut side up. (A muffin pan works great for this, as it keeps the garlic bulbs from rolling around.) Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each exposed head, using your fingers to rub the olive oil over all the cut, exposed garlic cloves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover the bulb with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F (205°C) for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

4 Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.

Eat as is (I love straight roasted garlic) or mash with a fork and use for cooking.

We mashed up the whole roasted garlic with a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and about 2 TBSP of sriracha for a dipping sauce with the green beans.