Green beans dipped in a light flour-and-egg batter and deep-fried until golden and crisp, a Portuguese dish that 16th-century Jesuits carried to Japan and which became the ancestor of tempura. A Beira-Lisboa summer side.
Peixinhos da horta, literally little fishes from the garden, is a Portuguese dish of green beans in a light batter, deep-fried until golden and crisp, that has a singular place in food history as the ancestor of Japanese tempura. The dish, of green beans dipped in a simple wheat-flour and egg batter and fried, was a standard Portuguese Lenten food, eaten when meat was forbidden, and when Portuguese Jesuit missionaries arrived in Nagasaki in the 16th century they carried the technique with them. The Japanese, seeing the Portuguese fry vegetables in batter, adapted the method into tempura, the word itself deriving from the Latin tempora, the Catholic periods of fasting that the Portuguese observed. The dish remains common across Portugal, particularly in the Beira-Lisboa region, eaten in summer when green beans are abundant, the crisp golden batter and the tender bean within a simple, satisfying side. The historical link to tempura is well-documented, and peixinhos da horta is one of the few dishes that can claim to have shaped a foreign cuisine.
Long, golden-crisp green beans in a shatteringly light batter, the bean inside tender and sweet, eaten hot with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. Crisp, clean, the simple pleasure that became tempura.
The technique is a light tempura-style batter, the same one the Portuguese carried to Japan. Green beans are topped, tailed, blanched briefly in boiling salted water until just tender, then drained and dried well, the drying essential so the batter adheres. A batter of wheat flour, egg, a little olive oil and cold water or sparkling water is made, kept thin and light, the cold liquid preventing gluten development so the batter stays crisp. The dried beans are dipped in the batter, drained of excess, and deep-fried at around 170 degrees C for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and shatteringly crisp, the high heat setting the batter fast before the bean inside overcooks. The beans are drained, salted and served hot with lemon, the contrast of the crisp delicate batter and the sweet tender bean the pleasure. The lightness of the batter is the technical point, a heavy or overworked batter turns the dish into fritter rather than tempura, and the cold liquid and the brief fry are what keep it light.
Variations
Some versions use sparkling water in the batter for extra crispness. Other vegetables, zucchini and pumpkin, are fried the same way. A garlic or cilantro aioli is a modern dip.
On the Palate
Where Peixinhos da Horta sits in the Portuguese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
4 steps · 15 min
- 14 min
Top and tail 400g green beans; blanch in boiling salted water for 3 minutes until just tender, then drain and dry thoroughly.
Watch outBlanch the beans just tender, then dry them thoroughly — any surface water and the batter slides off instead of clinging when they hit the oil.
- 24 min
Make the batter: whisk 150g plain flour with 1 egg, 1 tbsp olive oil and 200ml ice-cold water or sparkling water to a thin smooth batter.
- 35 min
Heat oil to 170 degrees C; dip the beans in the batter, drain the excess, and fry in batches for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and crisp.
Watch outFry at a moderate steady heat until golden and shatter-crisp — keep the batter thin and the oil right, and it stays light; too cool and it turns oily and heavy.
- 43 min
Drain on paper, salt lightly, and serve at once with lemon wedges.
