Monday, June 29, 2015

Crunchy Edamame Bites (vegan)

I’ve been crafting this side dish ever since I discovered shelled edamame a few months back. I don’t eat a lot of salt or junk food; so for me these are almost as good as munching on potato chips, with added nutritional benefits. I personally cook this recipe with regular old garlic powder instead of garlic salt because I’m not huge into salt myself. However, I tried it with the garlic salt for a test batch to see how it would taste, and this came out fantastic! I prefer this dish without the olive oil/dry. I buy frozen edamame and heat it in the microwave until they are soft and warm but not overly hot, or I get them from the salad bar section of the grocery store. The moisture from the steam will help the breading stick to the peas when you cook them. However, if you do use oil it will not come out as crunchy.

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled edamame
1 tbsp flax seed mill
1/4 tsp garlic salt*
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)

Directions:


  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°
  2. Pour the dry ingredients onto a plate or into a bowl.
  3. Measure out the edamame and add it to the plate or bowl, and mix by hand or with a fork until all the peas are coated in flax seed and garlic salt. If necessary use the olive oil to make the “breading” stick.
  4. Place on a lined baking sheet on the top rack and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, and then use a spatula or fork to turn them over.
  5. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the peas are dry and crunchy. They will have a slightly wrinkled texture if you are making them without olive oil. If you use the oil you just have to watch closely and check on them to make sure they do not burn.  
*I use garlic powder not garlic salt and I like a LOT of garlic on my food. I noticed that the garlic salt cannot be used the same way without over-salting the dish. If you want lots of garlic and a pinch of salt try using garlic powder and sea salt or garlic powder and garlic salt.