Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole


I spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's of 2010 quite sick due to my pregnancy, and was unable to enjoy the delicious meals and treats throughout the season. That was my reasoning for pigging out this past holiday season. However, I tried to keep it semi-healthy, beginning with this dish! I'm a huge green bean casserole fan. The canned beans and condensed soup version just don't cut it though, fresh beans, a quick cream sauce, and a sprinkle of fresh onions are a million times tastier! 

I used Alton Brown's "Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole" as my starting point, but green bean casserole really isn't rocket science. This side dish will definitely be gracing our table all year long, not just at the holidays. Here's an extra tip - make double, or triple the onions - you won't be able to stop snacking on them while making the rest of the dish! 

Not Your Mama's Green Bean Casserole
from Alton Brown (slightly adapted from link above)

2 yellow onions, sliced 1/4" thick, separated into rings
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. Italian style breadcrumbs
1/4 c. panko breadcrumbs

2 lbs. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" segments
1 tbsp. butter
8 oz. button mushrooms, chopped
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt and pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp. flour
1-2 c. 2% milk

Preheat oven to 450*
Add onions to a bowl, toss in flour, remove and place in another bowl, toss in buttermilk, remove and place in a final bowl of breadcrumbs, toss gently to coat.
Spread out on a lined cookie sheet, bake for 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes to ensure even crisping.
Remove from the oven, set aside.

Bring 1" of water to a boil, place a steamer basket over water and steam beans for 7-10 minutes, until tender and still bright green.

In a deep saute' pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic.
Saute' for 5 minutes, until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft.
Sprinkle with flour, stir to coat, add 1 c. milk and nutmeg, whisk and bring to a bubble, cook to desired thickness of sauce, adding more milk as necessary.
Add green beans, toss to coat in sauce, taste and adjust seasonings.
Remove from heat, pour into a dish, top with onions and serve immediately.


5 comments:

Joanne said...

Can I claim your pregnancy last year as MY reason for pigging out this year? Sympathy overeating? :P

This casserole looks delicious! I couldn't eat the one on T-Day because of the cream of chicken soup in it, but I would have loved this as an alternative!

Dawn said...

Looks yum! I'm with you. I love green bean casserole.

Kelly said...

Looks like a delicious lightened version. I've never been crazy about the real thing, but this updated version looks like something I could get behind.

Chris said...

Yum! I'm just recently learning how delicious green beans can be when they don't come from a can. I'll have to try this casserole out!

Unknown said...

Looks Yummy
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