For too long, the
building blocks of the dish were replaced with canned soup, earning the dish an
undeservedly bad reputation. Green Bean Casserole is overdue, I think for some rehabilitation. This version, which is really a gratin or
tian presents the beans in a flavorful sauce, topped with golden-brown buttered
breadcrumbs. Serve these green beans with Apple Cider Roast Turkey. If you are
preparing this dish when green beans are out of season, good results can be
achieved with frozen beans; choose the“Petite” green beans, which are less likely to develop the unpleasant
rubbery texture that frozen vegetables sometimes have.
(Serves 6)
For the
Beans:
1 1/2
pounds fresh young green beans
or 2
(10-ounce) bags frozen green beans
1 gallon boiling water
2 tablespoons kosher
salt
For the Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons
unbleached white flour
2 cups Turkey Stock or
natural chicken broth
1/2 cup organic
whipping cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt,
or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly
ground black pepper, or to taste
For the Topping:
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick)
butter
1/2 grated Parmesan
cheese
1.) Preheat the oven to
350 and butter a 2-quart baking dish. (The casserole looks best in a ceramic
oval.)
2.) Trim the green
beans to remove the tough stem end but leave the delicate “tails” intact. Put
the water and salt in a large saucepan over high heat and when the water comes
to a full, rolling boil, drop in the beans. Cook the green beans until they are
dark green and barely tender, about 3 minutes, then lift them out of the
boiling water and scatter them over the surface of a cold baking sheet so they
will cool and stop cooking. The beans may be prepared ahead up to this point
and finished just before serving.
3.) Make the sauce.
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat, whisk in the flour
then whisk in the stock or broth and the cream. Cook and stir until mixture
boils and starts to thicken. Stir in the salt and pepper to taste. Combine the
sauce with the green beans and transfer the mixture to the buttered baking
dish.
4.) For the topping,
combine the breadcrumbs with the Parmesan cheese and butter and scatter the
mixture over the green bean mixture. Bake until the topping is golden brown and
the filling is bubbling around the edges, 30 to 35 minutes.
