Yield
6 servings
Time
1 hour 15 minutes
With tender green beans and a homemade mushroom sauce (no "cream of" soup), this delicious side dish is packed with flavor and topped with crunchy fried onions.
‣ 1 pound green beans, but into 2-inch pieces ‣ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ‣ 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms ‣ 1 Vidalia onion, sliced ‣ 1/4 cup chopped pancetta ‣ 1/4 cup fresh chopped rosemary, divided ‣ 5 teaspoons fresh minced garlic, divided ‣ 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika ‣ 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds ‣ 2 pinches salt, to taste, divided ‣ 2 pinches black pepper, to taste, divided ‣ 1/2 cup salted butter, divided ‣ 1 shallot, grated ‣ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ‣ 1 1/2 cups milk ‣ 1/2 cup buttermilk ‣ 1 teaspoon dried oregano ‣ 2 cups crispy fried onions, divided ‣ 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs ‣ 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, optional
If you’re blanching the green beans, kick things off by bringing a pot of water to a boil and drop the green beans in. Cook them until crisp-tender, then plunge the green beans in ice-cold water until cooled down. Drain the green beans and set them aside.
In a large skillet, heat the oil, then add the mushrooms, onion, and pancetta. Sauté until tender.
Add the balanced green beans, some rosemary, some garlic, smoked paprika, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper. Toss everything together, cover the skillet, and set heat to low. Let the ingredients simmer together while preparing the next few steps.
In another large skillet, melt some of the butter. Add the shallot and flour and whisk everything together until the flour is saturated in butter.
While continuing to whisk, pour in a bit of the milk. Mix until the flour has absorbed it, then pour in a little bit more milk. Work slowly and repeat this step until all of the milk and buttermilk has been added.
Season the milk mixture with oregano, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for five minutes.
While the sauce simmers, add some of the fried onions and the remaining rosemary to a food processor. Pulse it a few times until it’s broken up and crumbly.
Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, then mix in the fried onion mixture and panko breadcrumbs until everything is saturated in butter.
Start assembling the casserole by spraying a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in the contents of the two skillets (green bean mixture and sauce) then use a spatula to stir everything together.
Smooth everything out into an even layer and top with buttery onion panko mix, the remaining fried onions, and parmesan cheese.