Thursday, January 7, 2010

{GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE}


Eliza found this one on Fat Free Vegan. Don't be fooled, though; it is NOT fat free. It is, however, delicious. It even got husband approval, which is no small task at my house.

{Beans}

2 quarts water
1 T salt
1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

• Bring water to a boil in a large pot.
• While the water is heating, cut up the beans.
• Add the salt and beans to the boiling water.
• Cover and cook for 6 minutes.
• Drain beans in a colander, and spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking.
• Let them sit and drain in the colander.

{Sauce}

10 oz. mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 T flour
3/4 c vegetable broth
1/2 to 1 T orange juice concentrate (original recipe calls for sherry)
3/4 c soy creamer

• Trim and discard mushroom stems, and chop mushrooms into small pieces.
• Saute mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper until mushrooms are very soft. (Mushrooms exude enough juice that you don't need to use water, oil, or spray.)
• Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms, along with the orange juice concentrate.
• Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens.
• Add the soy creamer and simmer until thick (about 5 to 10 minutes).

{Topping}

2 slices whole-grain bread (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 slices)
1 T Earth Balance margarine (optional)
1/8 t salt
1/16 t freshly ground black pepper
3 oz. French fried onions

• Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly.
• Pour into a bowl and add the onions.
• Stir to combine.

{Assembly and Cooking}

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Spray 9x13 casserole dish and pour in the beans.
• Pour sauce over beans.
• Top with the onion mixture.
• Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Note: If you're not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately. Allow everything to come back to room temperature before topping the casserole; bake it for about 20 minutes.

1 comment:

Rebekah said...

i made this again tonight. i added 1/4 c nutritional yeast to the sauce, and i blended the sauce (including the sauteed mushrooms). mike appreciates mushrooms more if they are not identifiable.