Green Bean Casserole

Green Bean Casserole.

The name brings up memories of goopy green beans and salty canned mushroom soup. It gets a bad rap. I hated it growing up. I only had it a few times, but it never tasted very good. I remember the first time my mom tried to make it for a Thanksgiving and I just looked at her with a blank stare and was like, “Please never try this again…Persian cooking only out of you please!”

My distaste for this dish changed once I experienced America’s Test Kitchen’s Recipe for Green Bean Casserole. It’s a game changer. Per Test Kitchen, history says that the dish was actually inspired by the offices of Campbell Soup to highlight their Cream of Mushroom product line. Test Kitchen is my go to for every recipe. If I’m unsure of how to make something, I go to them first. They literally test out how to make something the best way, so why not go to them? They have yet to steer me in the wrong direction.

I like to use fresh ingredients for every portion of this dish, so I don’t use canned fried onions, green beans, or mushroom soup. The only thing I didn’t add to this dish was the breadcrumbs, I don’t think it really needs the breadcrumbs but feel free to add them.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 lbs fresh green beans, ends trimmed, cut on the diagonal into 2 inch pieces
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 12 ounces white button mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups heavy cream

 Topping

• Diced Onions
• 4 Tbsp. Flour
• 2 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Cup of Peanut Oil

Method

First, prepare your green beans. You can use frozen green beans, but I really prefer to use fresh green beans. Once you’ve prepared them, heat up a pot of boiling water with 2 tbsp. of salt. Now, add your green beans, cook them until they turn bright green and have a little bit of crunch. I’ve made the mistake in the past where they are too crunchy, so taste a couple before you settle.

Once they’ve cooked, immediately dump them in an ice bath, and then allow them to dry. Set aside.

Now, onto the mushroom filling. First, heat up your butter, then add your minced onions, garlic , and thyme. Allow them to soften up. Once that’s happened, add your mushrooms. Allow the liquid to reduce down and then add your flour (spreading it over the entire dish).  Stir to make sure the flour is mixed well into the dish, and then add your chicken broth. Stir this so you have no clumps, and allow the broth to reduce slightly.

Now, add your cream and stir slightly.

Pour the green beans into a Pyrex that can hold all the green beans. Then, add your filling over the green beans.

Now it’s time to make your onion topping. You can opt to use canned Fried Onions, as they do taste great, I can’t deny that. If you opt in to making them from scratch, here you go. Coat the diced onions in the flour and salt and then fry in the peanut oil. The onions will probably not get as crispy as you’d like which is OK. Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake them at 300F (if you have a convection oven use that function). Bake for about 15-20 minutes so they get crispy and then set aside.

Bake your green bean casserole in the oven for 20-30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes, add your onion topping and enjoy!