(Hopefully I'll snatch a better picture next week, when I make this again during the daylight hours. Until then, please trust me when I say that these beans are goo-oood!) 😉
Only one more week until Thanksgiving. Can you believe it? Are you ready? We finalized our plans yesterday to hop across the street to our friends' house for dinner, which once again means that I'm not hosting this year. It's amazing that I have never hosted a holiday dinner, except for the year I was 37 weeks pregnant with Judah and eight of our friends came over for Thanksgiving. They wouldn't let me cook or clean, so I don't count it.
I can't wait until the day that all of our friends or family gather into my home for a festive holiday dinner, where I roast the turkey, throw together some appetizers, bake the bread and just tell my guests to go watch football, drink some wine and relax. Until then, I'll continue being a guest and bring along my sides or a dessert.
One of the sides I'm contributing this year is this green bean casserole that does not include even an ounce of cream of mushroom soup or french fried onions, yet is just as good (actually better)! Fresh green beans are used in this recipe, instead of canned. And, instead of going through a huge rigmarole of a cooking process (boiling, shocking, drying, and reheating in pan sauce) that typically dirties many dishes when cooking green beans, all of the steps are completed using the same 12-inch skillet. Plus, don't get me started on the finger-licking crispy onion topping!
This impressive side dish comes together pretty swiftly when prepping the ingredients ahead of time (trimming the beans, slicing the mushrooms, mincing the onion). After each step, you quickly wipe the skillet clean and immediately continue to the next step, using the same skillet. This way, not only is the cooking time fast, but you'll have a rapid clean up, too. Which means the sooner you can get to that pumpkin pie! 🙂
Green Bean Casserole From Scratch
Ingredients
- 3 large shallots , thinly sliced
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour , divided
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 10 ounces cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, stemmed, caps cleaned and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion , minced (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed
- 1 ½ pounds fresh green beans , ends trimmed
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ heavy cream
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with three layers of paper towel; set aside. In a small bowl, toss the shallots with ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the flour; set aside. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the shallots and fry, stirring frequently, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer the crispy shallots to the lined baking sheet.
- Carefully wipe out the hot skillet and return to medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, mushrooms, and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Wipe out the skillet again. Melt the butter over medium heat. Once the foaming subsides, stir in the minced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and remaining 1 tablespoon flour, then toss in the green beans, thyme, and bay leaves. Pour in the cream and chicken broth, increase the heat to medium-high and cover. Cook until the beans are partly tender, but still crisp in the center, about 4 minutes.
- Remove the cover and add the cooked mushrooms back to the skillet. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, uncovered, until the green beans are tender and the sauce has slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving dish, then sprinkle evenly with the crispy shallots. Serve immediately.
- Source: Slightly adapted from The New Best Recipe
