TiT, Part VI: Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Cans-Free Green Bean Casserole

2 onions*, thinly sliced
at least 1/2 cup of milk
salt
cracked peppercorns
flour for dredging
oil for frying
1/2 pound green beans, topped and tailed, stringed or cut into segments
clarified butter or oil
3 shallots or garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound mushrooms
2 T unsalted butter
2T flour
1-1/2 cups cream
grated nutmeg

1. French-Fried Onions. Soak the onions in the milk for at least 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly and pat dry. Heat oil over medium-high flame. Toss the onions in the seasoned dredging flour. Fry in batches until golden brown, then drain on paper towels. Lightly salt them if desired.

2. Poached Green Beans. Boil a pot of salted water. Poach the beans for a couple minutes (depends on their size and ratio to the quantity of water). Remove when firmer than al dente. Rinse under cold water until no longer hot. Drain and set aside.

3. Sauteed Mushrooms. Over medium flame, heat clarified butter or oil until shimmering. Add the minced shallot or garlic, stir for a minute, then remove. Adding fat and adjusting the heat as needed to keep the pan from scorching, place mushrooms into the pan in batches, taking care not to overcrowd them. As the mushrooms brown, turn them, push them out to the edges of the pan, and add more oil and mushroom slices to keep the process moving. It turns into a little game of mushroom-juggling. As the shrooms are fully browned, move them into the bowl with the sauteed shallot. When finished, set aside.

4. White Sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and saute until the foaming subsides. Whisk in the flour and cook until the roux is as golden brown as the mushrooms. Whisk in the cream, then simmer until it's nice and thick. Add salt and cracked pepper to taste.

5. Casserole. Add mushroom-shallot mixture to the white sauce, bring to a boil. Add the poached beans, bring to a boil. Add 1/3 of the french-fried onions, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and transfer to a baking dish. Sprinkle the top with grated nutmeg. Add the rest of the fried onions. Bake uncovered at about 350 degrees F until golden brown and bubbly on top, something like 10-30 minutes.

* Please use "storage" onions when cooking, not "sweet" ones. Storage onions such as the small yellow and red ones have been air-cured to promote long shelf-life; they are hot before cooking but will brown nicely when sauteed or batter-fried. Sweet onions like Vidalia and Maui are intended to be served fresh. You can cook them if you want, but they have a high water content and therefore perversely turn out less sweet and flavorful than storage onions do.