Deluxe Green Bean Casserole
Courtesy of Ravin Patel, Chef, 7th Street Standard in Sacramento.
Ingredients
For the green beans:
- 2 pounds fresh green beans
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 gallon water, cold
- Ice water in large bowl
For the mushroom gravy:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds cremini mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
For the fried shallots:
- 8 cups canola oil
- ½ pound shallots
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
For the green beans:
- Clean green beans by trimming stems off ends. Cut beans into 2- to 3-inch pieces then wash. Boil water in large pot with salt, then add beans and boil for 3 minutes. Remove beans by straining them into colander. Plunge beans into ice water and mix well to ensure all beans are cooled rapidly. This allows beans to stay green. Strain from ice water and reserve for later.
For the mushroom gravy:
- In large wide pot, heat oil. Add onions, mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until onions and mushrooms are browned. Deglaze pan with wine. Add butter and cook until melted completely. Add in flour and stir often, cooking 2 to 3 minutes until flour begins to smell nutty. Add milk and cook until a thick gravy develops. Adjust seasoning as needed and cool mixture to room temperature.
For the fried shallots:
- Heat oil in large, deep pot. Note that this will be used for frying and needs some space for the oil to bubble when adding your shallots. Bring oil to 300 degrees F. Peel and slice shallots into very thin rings, less than 1/16-inch thick. In separate bowl, combine flour, garlic powder, and pepper. Add shallots to flour mixture and mix well until all shallots are coated evenly. Using large strainer, sift shallots until excess flour is removed. Add shallots to oil and fry slow on low heat until light brown. Remove shallots and allow to drain on baking tray lined with paper towels.
For the casserole:
- To assemble casserole, mix beans and half the fried shallots with mushroom gravy. Spoon mixture into a buttered casserole dish. Cover with foil ensuring foil does not touch green bean mixture. Bake at 325 degrees F until internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining fried shallots. Serve warm.
