It’s Not Easy Being Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

1 tablespoon EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 pound white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped or grated
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 to 3 pounds French-cut green beans
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream or half-and-half
1 wheel of Boursin cheese
1 1/2 cups fried onion pieces, homemade or store-bought
For the Fried Onion Pieces:
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon paprika

Yields:

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO and 4 tablespoons of butter. Once hot, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring every now and then until brown, about 5 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the shallots start to get tender, about 4-5 minutes.

While the mushrooms and shallots cook, place the green beans in another skillet. Add an inch or two of water, salt it and bring to a boil. Cook the beans for 2-3 minutes, drain and shock in ice water.

When all the vegetables are tender, sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and shallots. Cook about 1 minute then stir in the white wine and chicken stock, and reduce by half. Add the heavy cream and melt the Boursin cheese in the sauce, about 1 minute.

Add green beans to the skillet and combine. Pour into a medium-size casserole dish and top with onions.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and brown.

For the Fried Onion Pieces:
Heat vegetable oil in a pot to 350°F.

Soak onion slices in buttermilk and drain. Season flour with salt, pepper and paprika. Dredge onion slices in flour mixture. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

Serve on top of green bean casserole.