Thanksgiving is approaching very, very quickly, so to make up for my utter and complete lack of Thanksgiving recipes throughout the years, I have decided to do a side-dish mini series! And, as an added bonus, all these recipes will be just a bit healthier {or, at the very least, less processed} than their traditional counterparts. So, to start us off, I made green bean casserole from scratch, and topped it with fried shallots! Would you believe me if I told you this is actually not as difficult and impossible as you'd think? I chose to start with this one because it's my absolute least favorite on the Thanksgiving table, despite the fact that I love onions and mushrooms and green beans. I'm 99% sure the reason is that I just don't like canned foods at all... if you think mixing together a can gloopy, MSG-loaded cream of mushroom soup with another can of gray, mushy green beans is a proper side dish, then I really don't know what to tell you! I'm sorry I just really enjoy good food. 🙂 For this mini-makeover, sodium-laden canned green beans are replaced by frozen green beans that are steamed, and the mushroom soup is made from scratch! And, of course, the crunchy yellow things are replaced by deep fried shallots, which are super simple to make and taste like itty bitty onion rings. If you're a green bean casserole-hater like I was, this recipe will certainly convert you!
I just realized that some people may not know what shallots are, but long story short, they are a cross between onions and garlic. So, like garlic-sized onions... which is why they create tiny little onion rings! This recipe is deceivingly easy, and while making soup from scratch and frying the topping seems like a ton of extra work to do on Thanksgiving, I promise it's really not bad at all. The soup seriously took me maybe 10 minutes total, and the shallots took me another 10... and besides, you fry these little onions while the casserole is in the oven, so you're basically multitasking at that point! Just to drive my point home, I will say that I have never ever ever enjoyed cream of mushroom soup from a can, but I couldn't stop myself from stealing spoonfuls of the homemade stuff! It tastes amazing and I can hardly believe it took me just a handful of ingredients and 10-15 minutes. If anything, at least make the soup from scratch. I promise you will be so glad you did!
{cream of mushroom soup from Gimme Some Oven}
homemade green bean casserole with fried shallots
Ingredients
- 6 cups frozen green beans {2 standard bags I like the Steamable kind!}
- 1 ⅓ cups vegetable broth
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup milk
- ⅓ cup flour
- 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
- 4 shallots thinly sliced
- ¼ cup flour {separate from the other ⅓ cup of flour!}
- vegetable oil for frying
- salt pepper, garlic powder as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and spray a 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- First, make the soup. In a large pot, bring the vegetable broth to a boil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and ⅓ cup of flour until smooth and lump-free. Slowly add the milk and flour mixture into the boiling broth, whisking constantly. It should thicken almost instantly!
- Stir the chopped mushrooms into the soup, and add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Turn the heat down to low to allow the mushrooms to cook through as you prepare the rest.
- Cook the green beans, either in their own bag if they are Steamable, or with a steam basket. Cook to desired tenderness, and remove from heat. Remember to get rid of any excess water!
- In a medium bowl, combine the cooked green beans and about a cup of the soup. You can use more or less as preferred! Add salt and pepper if needed.
- Pour the green bean-soup mixture into your prepared baking dish, and bake for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare your shallots. Peel them and slice them thinly.
- Prepare a medium pot for frying, and fill with about 1 inch of vegetable oil, and turn heat on medium. Line a plate with a paper towel for the fried product.
- Place your remaining ¼ cup of flour in a separate plate and season with salt and pepper, then toss all the shallot "rings" in the flour. As soon as the oil is hot {it will shimmer slightly}, toss in your shallots, a few at a time.
- Using a slotted spoon, move your shallots around as they cook, and remove them when they are medium gold... not light gold because they will taste flour-y, but not too late or they will be burnt! Place on prepared plate with paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
- When green bean casserole has finished baking {it should be hot and bubbly!}, remove from oven and top with the fried shallots. Serve immediately!
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