Green Bean Casserole with Homemade Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
1½ pounds Green Beans, trimmed
Sea Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, freshly ground, to taste
2 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Cold Pressed Olive Oil
1 pound Mushrooms, such as shiitakes, creminis and oyster, cleaned and quartered
½ teaspoon Fresh Thyme Leaves, minced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon Cayenne Powder
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, freshly ground
2 tablespoons Arrowroot Flour
1 cup Organic Pastured Chicken Broth
1 cup Sour Cream
½ cup Heavy Cream
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil
3. Add the green beans and cook until they just turn bright green, 2 to 3 minutes
You don’t want to cook the green beans through as they will cook in the oven also
4. Strain and plunge the green beans immediately in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process
5. When cool, drain and set out to dry on paper towels
6. Set a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat
7. Add the butter and olive oil
8. Once the butter is melted and the pan is hot, add the mushrooms
9. Cook undisturbed so the mushrooms sear nicely, about 1 minute
10. Add the thyme and garlic and continue cooking the mushrooms to achieve some nice color
11. Season with the salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg
12. Cook 2 to 3 more minutes longer, dusting the mushrooms with some of the flour as they release moisture
13. Stir with a whisk to incorporate the flour (just like making a roux) and gradually add in the chicken stock
14. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and add the sour cream and cream
15. Stir gently and cook over low heat until gravy thickens, 5 to 6 minutes
16. Add the blanched green beans to the pan and fold together so everything is mixed well
17. Spread out evenly in the pan
18. Sprinkle the green beans with the grated Parmesan and transfer to a roasting tray to catch any spill-over
19. Bake until the casserole is bubbly and the top is melted and golden, 15 minutes
20. Top the green bean casserole with the fried onions and serve
French Fried Onions:
Ingredients
1 Onion
Buttermilk, enough to soak onion strings
1 cup Tapioca or Arrowroot Starch
1½ teaspoon Sea Salt
½ teaspoon Paprika (optional)
¼ teaspoon Chili Powder (optional)
Certified Organic Coconut Oil
Directions
1. Slice the onion into very thin slices
2. Put the sliced onion strings into a bowl and cover with buttermilk
If you don’t have buttermilk, then you can use regular milk with about 1 tablespoon of vinegar for every cup of milk
3. Soak the onions for at least an hour, up to 24 hours
4. In a separate bowl (or bag) mix together the tapioca or arrowroot, salt, and spices if using
5. When the onions are done soaking, add some coconut oil into a pan
6. The deeper the oil, the more onions you can fry at one time
To save on oil and money, keep it at about ½ inch deep and do smaller batches
7. You do want the onions to be totally submerged when cooking
8. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it’s about 350 degrees
If the onion strings bubble furiously and brown right away, the oil is too hot. You want it to produce small bubbles and a nice sizzling sound
9. While the oil is heating up, drain the onions and coat really well in the flour mixture
10. Drop small handfuls of the onion strings into the oil and fry for a couple of minutes, until nicely browned and crispy
11. Stir them occasionally while frying so they don’t stick together
12. Remove from the oil and let cool down on a paper towel