Green Bean Casserole from Scratch

Found for thanksgiving on www.thegalleygourmet.net

***Note: Blogger won’t let me edit the directions but don’t miss this important step which I left out before. When you add the heavy cream, also add the chicken stock. Cook down, then whisk in the flour to thicken. Very important or you will have green bean soup! Which I realized at 7:00 am the day of 2018 Thanksgiving.

Green Bean Casserole from Scratch

Topping:

1 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 T unsalted butter, softened
3 cups of canned fried onions
Salt and Pepper

Beans and Sauce:

2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
3T unsalted butter
8 oz. white button mushrooms, finely diced
2 small shallots, finely diced
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 T unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
2 teaspoons soy sauce (optional)

1. For the topping, In a bowl of a food processor, combine the butter and panko. Add the fried onions, salt, and pepper and pulse just until coarse crumbs form, set aside.

2. With oven rack in middle position, preheat the oven to 425. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, set aside. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add salt and beans. Cook until beans are bright green and tender about 6-9 minutes. Drain beans and immediately plunge into the ice water to stop cooking process. Drain completely.

3. Melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming subsides. Add mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Saute until mushrooms release moisture and liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes. Add cream, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the green beans to the sauce and gently toss to coat. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the topping over the beans and bake until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.