Over the years I have updated my Green Bean Casserole recipe many times. I went from frozen Green Beans to fresh, from Campbell’s Mushroom Soup, to Trader Joe’s Cream of Portabella Mushroom Soup and from grocery store French Fried Onions to Trader Joe’s Gourmet Fried Onion Pieces. Then I came across Thomas Keller‘s recipe for Green-Bean Casserole—Oven-Baked Haricots Verts With Cream of California Cèpe Mushrooms and Crispy Shallots and that is where I landed and that is where I will stay!
So that being said, there are several steps to his recipe and you can certainly deviate in many areas. If you’re like me, you have to go all the way for the “real deal”! Otherwise, you can substitute a good brand of fried onions on top or minimize the steps in the mushroom sauce by cooking all of the mushrooms together in the cream sauce, but whatever steps you take towards this recipe, you will have a vastly improved and much more heavenly Green Bean Casserole at the end!
GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE – OVEN-BAKED HARICOTS VERTS WITH CREAM OF MUSHROOMS AND CRISPY SHALLOTS
Adapted – Thomas Keller
Servings
8 people
Ingredients
20-24 medium size mushrooms, assorted (I used crimini, shitake and oyster)
1 quart plus 4 tablespoons canola oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 yellow onion, finely minced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves, finely minced
2 Tbsp Sherry
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup cream
1 ½ cups flour
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Juice of 1 lemon, to taste
2/3 cup kosher salt
2 ½ pounds haricots verts, cut at an angle into 2-inch pieces
6 large shallots, peeled
Instructions
- Cut the bottom half of the stem off each mushroom and cut the base into a 1/4-inch dice. (I didn’t use the shitake stems as they are bitter, so I added a few whole crimini mushrooms and diced them with the rest of the stems) Slice the remaining mushrooms into slices and uneven chunks and reserve.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large frypan. Add the diced mushroom stems, garlic, and onions, and sweat until the onions are translucent. Add the thyme, stock, and cream, and bring to a boil. Mix 1/4 cup of flour with the butter (softened) in a small bowl to form a paste. Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter-and-flour mixture until incorporated. Return the sauce to a simmer and cook gently for 10-15 minutes, whisking constantly to prevent the bottom from burning. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
- Bring 7 quarts of water to a boil, add kosher salt, and return to a fast boil. Add haricots verts and blanch until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the beans and chill in ice water. Drain again, and dry the beans on paper towels.
- Add 1 quart oil to a large saucepan and heat to 325 degrees. Holding the shallots at the root end, slice very thinly on a mandoline. Place the shallots in a mixing bowl, add the flour, and toss together until the shallots have separated into rings. Add the shallots to the saucepan in batches and fry, stirring constantly, until they are lightly browned. (Watch them closely, they go to lightly browned in an instant after cooking a while) Drain, place on paper towels, and season with salt.
- To finish, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sauté the reserved mushrooms in 2 tablespoons oil until golden brown. Add the Sherry to deglaze the pan and cook for a couple minutes. Transfer the mushrooms and haricots verts to the mushroom sauce pan and mix together. Check the seasoning and adjust accordingly. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole dish and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the crispy shallots on top to serve.
Note
- It is very important to chill the green beans in ice water right after blanching them. This creates a bright green bean and keeps them from overcooking as the heat will continue to cook them if you don’t take this step. The difference is amazing!
- If you don’t have a mandoline, you can easily slice the shallots by hand. If you want to stabilize those little round buggers, just slice them down the middle, lay them on their flat side and slice them thinly in half slices. After being fried, you won’t really notice if they are half or whole and it won’t affect the taste. The larger the shallots, the better they look as rings on top!
- Try not to cut the mushrooms in identical sizes as the variation will look more natural and less like processed mushroom soup.
(Printable recipe can be found in my recipe index under Side Dishes)