While I like a nice green bean, I suspect the real reason Food Network’s Alton Brown called this his Best Ever Green Bean Casserole https://bit.ly/2n6Ez4E is because it’s packed with tasty fresh mushrooms, too! Has to be? #beans #casserole #garlic #Panko #AltonBrown
Best Ever Green Bean Casserole
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
TOPPING
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
1tsp kosher salt
non-stick cooking spray
BEANS AND SAUCE
2tbsp plus 1tsp kosher salt, divided
450g fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2tbsp unsalted butter
340g mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1,5cm pieces
½tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half (make your own by mixing half cream and half full cream milk)
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 245°C.
2 Combine the onions, flour, Panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2-3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 200°C.
3 While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring 4 litres of water and 2tbsp of salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
4 Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1tsp salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half.
5 Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6-8 minutes.
6 Remove from the heat and stir in ¼ of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.