Remember, long, long ago, when you were little? And you used to go to Grandma’s house for festive meals with all your aunts and uncles and cousins… And you had things there that you never had at home… Magical things like Creamed Onions and one of my all-time faves: Green Bean Casserole!
Here’s a really good pic of a classic Green Bean Casserole, just like Peter’s!
So… I had a post all framed and ready to write, about Green Bean Casserole… And, then, I got an e-mail from my buddy Peter offering to share his great recipe with me and you! Must be a mind reader! Anyway…
Here’s Peter’s World Famous Green Bean Casserole recipe! Better than mine!
Ingredients:
2 Quarts/Litres Fresh Green Beans
1 Pint/ 500 ml Button Mushrooms
2 Cans French Fried Onions
Roasted Garlic & Red Bell Pepper Seasoning Mix to taste
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup 18% Cream
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
Trim ends off beans and cut in half on the diagonal. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil add beans and cook for 10 minutes, until beans are just tender. Drain and set aside.
Slice mushrooms and sauté in butter in a large skillet. When mushrooms start to release their liquid season with Roasted Garlic & Red Bell Peppers to taste. Continue to cook until mushrooms are a nice deep brown and all liquid has been absorbed. Take off heat and set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan and stir in flour. Stir vigorously to make a thick roux. Add sour cream and 10% cream. Cook stirring constantly until sauce is smooth and not too thick. Add mushrooms to sauce and continue to cook for five minutes stirring a couple of times.
In a large bowl mix together beans, sauce and 1 can of French fried onions, add salt and pepper to taste. Lightly butter an oven safe casserole dish. Add bean mixture to dish and shake contents of remaining can of French friend onions around edges and over top of casserole.
Place covered in 350 F oven for 20 minutes and then remove cover and continue to cook in oven for 10 more minutes until top is browned and sauce is bubbling.
Notes:
- Scale the recipe up or down, depending on the size of your casserole dish and/or the number of people you want to serve. The amounts in the ingredients list above will serve six (6).
- When buying mushrooms don’t skimp. They look like a lot when fresh in a bag but cook down a lot when sautéed.
- You can make this dish the day before and once it has been in the oven covered for 20 minutes remove, cool and place in refrigerator. To re-heat remove from fridge and bring to room temperature. Re-heat covered in 350 oven for 30 minutes and then remove cover for 10 minutes.
- You can, of course, make your own crispy Deep Fried onions if you wish and, you have a deep fryer…
- And you can also make your own roasted garlic and Red Bell Peppers, if the fancy takes you…
And there you have it!
Like the Creamed Onions we posted earlier this month, this one is an old, standard favourite and rarely seen these days – mainly because it takes a certain amount of of effort and time to put together. But, also like the Onions, you’ll be glad you made the investment.
If all goes well, we’re all still around, and the creek don’t rise, Peter and his partner and his Green Bean Casserole will be our guests for New Year’s supper again this holiday season. I can hardly wait!
~ Maggie J.