Sophisticated Green Bean Casserole

These Sophisticated green beans put an elevated twist on the classic green bean casserole. The Best homemade mushroom cream sauce drizzled over fresh green beans and caramelized mushrooms. Seriously, so incredibly delicious!

Let’s dish for a second. If you’re like me you grew up having green bean casserole twice a year – Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And when you did have it, it was made with canned cream of mushroom soup. Okay, so I have a few issues with that.

One – why do we only make it twice a year?  We clearly love it a lot and it’s not difficult to make so why only those two holidays?  I mean this dish is perfect alongside a New York Strip Steak or a Roasted Chicken. It’s a killer side dish or if you’re a vegetarian one awesome entree.  Trust me, I’ve been known to just have this for dinner and that’s it.  Next, the canned cream of mushroom soup.  Why?  No seriously, why?  Because it’s easy?  Yeah no, not acceptable.  The taste should never EVER be sacrificed. Trust me, with this recipe you’ll never buy canned again. EVER.

So now that I got that off my chest and we all agree to make this more than twice a year and no canned cream of mushroom soup ever again, let’s talk about this recipe.  It was Thanksgiving and while my turkey was roasting away I started working on the sides.  I had a pound of fresh green beans trimmed and was going to cut them up in smaller chunks to make my standard green bean casserole when I decided to go all fancy-schmancy (even though I was still in my jammies).

I mean I figured it was a holiday.  After all, I was using our ‘good’ dishes.  Even though, yes, we were staying in our pajamas to eat.  LOL  Wha?  Don’t judge me.  It was just the two of us and Mr. Fantabulous was only 2 weeks post-op from shoulder surgery. I’m lucky the man had pants on at all.  LOL  As I was staring at the beans stacked and lined in a row on my cutting board I envisioned them with the sauce ladled on hollandaise-style with a few extra pan-seared crimini mushrooms on top.

Honestly, the only difference between this version and my traditional casserole is the green beans in that one are cut in half and they are mixed together in the sauce then baked.  This one, well, isn’t mixed or cut.

Into the boiling salted water, the beans went for a quick blanch and then into an ice bath to stop the cooking.  While they rested I got to make my sauce.  Now, this sauce is just… just… words escape me on how amazing this sauce is.  It’s rich and decadent. It’s not a true condensed cream of mushroom soup.  Oh no, it’s like condensed soup on crack with a side of “Dear Sweet Baby Jesus!” It’s rich, decadent, silky, creamy, mushroomy (go with it) and irresistible.  This sauce with steak … EPIC.

Once the sauce was done I plated the blanched beans on an oven-safe platter, ladled over the rich sauce, and baked until bubbly. While that was cooking I cooked up the rest of my mushrooms until they were golden brown and tender.  For the presentation, I placed them on top.

Okay I know you’re going to ask “Where are the crispy onion thingies that go on top?  Mom always had those!” Well fret not, I had them too but by the time I went to take those photos Mr. Fantabulous was ready to eat and I couldn’t hold him off any longer.  The man will not eat room temperature food (at least when it’s not supposed to be room temp).  But you can easily add them to this dish (see note in the recipe). But honestly, you really don’t need them on this dish.  Unless you’re making crispy onions from scratch those pre-packaged ones add zero taste (well unless you count grease).  All they add is a quasi crunch factor.

So with Christmas, tomorrow go on and get all fancy with your green beans and make them this way.  I know I will! And since we pinkie swore above, we must make this more than 2 times in 2016. Seriously put this in your standard side dish rotations; you will not be sorry.

Sophisticated Green Bean Casserole

• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

These Sophisticated green beans put an elevated twist on the classic green bean casserole. The Best homemade mushroom cream sauce drizzled over fresh green beans and caramelized mushrooms. Seriously, so incredibly delicious!

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Ingredients

• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 cups crimini sliced mushrooms, divided
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 4 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Large bowl of ice water

Instructions

1. Bring a 1/2 gallon of water (at least 6-8 cups) and 2 teaspoon of salt to a boil in a saucepan. You really want the beans to swim freely in the water. Add the beans and boil for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Remove the beans from the ice water after 2 minutes and place back into the colander to drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the middle. Take 1 cup of the mushrooms and chop into small pieces. Place a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add in 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil starts to shimmer add the 1 cup of chopped mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add in the garlic, shallots, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook until the shallots are soft. About 3-5 minutes.  Add in the cooked mushrooms. Add in the broth and simmer for one minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and cream in a cup. Add to the mushroom mixture. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Add in the dill and taste for seasoning. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. On a lightly sprayed oven-proof serving dish line the green beans down the center. Ladle the mushroom sauce down the center of the green beans leaving the ends exposed. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture bubbles. While the mixture is baking, place a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat for a minute. Add the remaining cup of sliced mushrooms and gently stir to coat. After 3 minutes of cooking, add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; stir. Cook for about 5 minutes per side or until all the mushrooms are golden brown and release their liquid. When the green beans in the oven are done, remove from the oven and top with the sautéed mushrooms. Serve or if you wish to add the crispy onions, see the Notes for more details.

Notes

If you wish to garnish these with the crispy onions, as soon as you place the sauteed mushrooms on top, place some of the onions on top of those and pop the plate back in the oven for about 3 minutes or until the onions have turned golden brown and crispy.

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