Hot! Green Bean Casserole Recipe

By Alton Brown

Never boil your beans in anything less than 1 gallon of water and liberally season with 2 tablespoons of salt. Boiling in lots of water does two things. First, It'll bounce back to a boil quickly, which will shorten the overall cooking time. And, it'll help to prevent the beans from turning brown.

Ingredients:

Topping: 2 medium onions, thinly sliced 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 Tbsp Japanese bread crumbs (aka panko) 1 tsp kosher salt

Beans and Sauce: 1 Tbsp kosher salt 1 pound fresh green beans rinsed, trimmed and halved 2 Tbsp unsalted butter 12 oz button mushrooms 1 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 cloves garlic minced 1/2 tsp nutmeg freshly ground 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 1 cup half-and-half 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Instructions:

1.Heat the oven to 475 degrees.

2.Make the topping: Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large bowl and toss to combine. Coat a half sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions in the pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes, tossing the onions 2 or 3 times during cooking. Set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven temperature down to 400 degrees.

3.While the onions are cooking, make the beans and sauce: Bring 1 gallon water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

4.Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release some of their liquid, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the nutmeg and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, 6 to 8 minutes.

5.Remove from the heat and stir in one-quarter of the onions and all of the beans. Top with the remaining onions. Bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

This and other great recipes can be found in Alton Brown's book, "Good Eats 3."