Green Bean and Peas Casserole
Ingredients
Mushroom Sauce
- 60 g butter
- 170 g onion finely chopped
- 300 g mushrooms thinly sliced
- 200 g mushrooms grated
- 500 g cream
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Lemon juice
- Freshly chopped parsley
Fried Shallots
- Shallots thinly sliced
- Oil
Breadcrumb Topping
- 200 g Breadcrumbs
- 6 Tbsp shallot oil reserved from frying shallots
- ½ t salt
- ¼ t pepper
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder optional
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley or sage or both optional
Green Beans and Peas
- 500 g frozen green beans
- 250 g frozen peas
Instructions
Mushroom Sauce
- Thinly slice 300g of mushrooms.
- In a frying pan, heat a teaspoon each of butter and oil over medium heat.
- Add a thin layer of the sliced mushrooms, avoid overlapping as much as possible.
- Season with a pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms turn nicely brown and crispy. Season with salt and a bit of lemon juice then remove from the pan.
- Repeat the process with the rest of the sliced mushrooms.
- Finely dice the onion and add the remaining butter to the pan. Sweat the onion until sweet and translucent.
- Add the grated mushrooms and fry until the water has evaporated and they start to brown.
- Pour in the cream and cook together for about 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Blend with either a hand blender or in a standing blender for a smooth sauce.
- Fold in the fried mushrooms and chopped parsley.
- You can use it immediately or store it in the fridge for later use.
Fried Shallots
- In a wide frying pan or pot, pour enough cold oil to allow the shallots to float.
- Slowly fry the thinly sliced shallots over low heat until they turn light golden. They continue to cook a bit out of the oil so don’t take them too dark in the pan.
- Remove the shallots from the oil immediately and drain on paper towels.
- Spread them out and season with salt.
Breadcrumb Topping
- Mix the breadcrumbs with the reserved oil from frying the shallots. The mixture should be sandy but not too wet.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder (if using), and finely chopped herbs. Set aside.
Green Beans and Peas
- In a large pot of boiling salted water (like pasta water), cook the green beans for 2-5 minutes until they reach your desired doneness. You can go for al dente or softer, depending on your preference.
- Immediately transfer the cooked green beans to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Strain and remove excess water.
Assemble and Bake
- Preheat your oven to 375°C (190°C).
- Mix together the cooked green beans, peas, and mushroom sauce. Pour the mixture into a casserole pan.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumb topping evenly over the top.
- Bake the casserole in the preheated oven until the breadcrumb topping turns golden brown, approximately 30-40 minutes.
- Once out of the oven, garnish the casserole with the fried shallots.
Notes
I like to make my own breadcrumbs by blitzing any leftover Plain White Loaf bread cubes I have from making Dad’s Famous Thanksgiving Stuffing.
You can omit the breadcrumb topping and fried shallots if desired.
The recipe calls for 170g of onion, this is approximate and equals about two medium onions. It doesn’t need to be exact, just in the ballpark.
If you don't want to add in the peas, use 750g of green beans.
You can omit the breadcrumb topping and fried shallots if desired.
The recipe calls for 170g of onion, this is approximate and equals about two medium onions. It doesn’t need to be exact, just in the ballpark.
If you don't want to add in the peas, use 750g of green beans.