The promise of a light tempura and green beans made this fry-averse cook give this a try. I liked not only the simplicity of the recipe but also the idea of keeping the green beans perfectly crisp, which is what makes these tempting when I spot them on menus. No doughiness. These peixinhos da horta met all those hopes and can been even simpler if you have a wok on hand, with the wide sides to capture the splatter, which means you can easily do this in a shallower depth of oil.
I washed my green beans and trimmed them ahead of time so that they would be dry before dipping them in the batter.
My batter needed the full 3/4 cup of sparkling water plus a tablespoon to reach the right creaminess. I staged my beans, batter, a towel-lined dish, and my spider (a wire basket for removing the finished beans). When the oil was the perfect temp, the beans would sizzle on the surface immediately and a crisp and light coating was done in under 6 seconds.
On the third batch, the temp dropped off a little and I noticed my beans sunk initially and took longer, so I adjusted the heat and once I was back up, it went as expected.
I served this with the garlic mayonnaise as well as with some horseradish creme, and although you could share this as an appetizer among 4 people, it also easily makes a tapas meal for 2.
I had some batter left over so I prepared some cauliflower florets using the same technique.
For those who need to make this gluten-free, I think this would work fine with rice flour.