First the Green Bean Casserole.
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Olive oil
For beans and sauce:
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons Wheat flour
- 1 cup chicken broth (Use vegetable broth for a vegan option)
- 1 cup half-and-half (Use rice milk for a vegan or lighter option)
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Lightly brush a sheet pan with olive oil and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.
While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of 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.
Add the oil to a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 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 until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.
Okay, now lets get after the spuds. Normally we boil and mash a bunch of russets with milk and butter to make them taste like something. Here are some better ways.
1. Steam organic red and Yukon potatoes whole for 20 -25 minutes and then smash them with some roasted or slightly sauteed garlic, a little salt, olive oil, pepper and fresh finely chopped rosemary. I call this Smashed Garlic Potatoes.
2. Steam the same potatoes along with some parsnip that is cut into large pieces. Smash them all together with some Rice milk, Olive Oil, salt and pepper. The parsnip adds a nice sweetness that more than makes up for the lack of milk, cream or butter in standard mashed potatoes.
3. Steam a chopped up head of Cauliflower for 20 minutes and mash it following 1 or 2 above. The cauliflower is less starchy and healthier than the potatoes.
You can peal the potatoes first if you want, but the skin doesn't bother me and has some nutrients as well.
Sweet Potatoes.
Normally people add marshmallows to their sweet potatoes for the traditional Thanksgiving side dish. You can get the sweetness much healthier by swapping the marshmallows for crushed pineapple. Then just swap any butter with Olive Oil or Coconut Oil and any Milk or cream with Rice Milk and just don't add eggs. It is that easy to repair these old recipes.
Here are some other options for sweet potato and root veggie sides.
Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Dice pealed potatoes in 1" chunks. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and put on a baking sheet and roast at 450 for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 - stir the potatoes and roast for 15 minutes more. Drizzle with warmed Pure Maple Syrup and toss with Fresh finely chopped Rosemary and black pepper to taste. Easy right?
Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes.
Roast Potatoes whole at 400 for 45-60 minutes until tender. Halve them and scoop out the potatoes. Add some olive oil, salt and pepper to the potato and mix it together. Now you get to decide what else to add. Some finely chopped rosemary or other Italian hers such as basil and thyme would work. You could mix in some Asiago cheese as well and a little rice milk to get things blended. Then put the potato mixture back into the shells and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes to heat thoroughly.
Honey/Cider Glazed Root Vegetables.
Hit the farm and get 3 or more pounds of root veggies like parsnip, rutabaga, etc. Dice into 1" chunks toss with olive oil, salt and black pepper and roast at 400 for 1 hour stirring every 20 minutes. Heat 1 cup of Organic Apple Cider and 1/4 honey in a saucepan and reduce slightly. Toss with the veggies and serve.
Gravy Time.
Turkey gravy.
When the turkey is done remove it to a platter and tent it with foil. Remove any veggies from the roasting pan and add water to the pan over heat. If you can't heat your roasting pan on the stove then pour the drippings into a saucepan trying to get all the stuck bits from the pan. Mix the water and drippings until blended well and reduce by 1/3rd. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix 2-4 Tbsp of whole wheat flour and the same amount of water (depending on how much gravy you are making) mix the water and flour well and then add it to the dripping mix. Stir and allow to cook until thickened.
Mushroom Gravy.
Add 2 tbsp of Olive oil to a sauce pan and heat. Add 1 medium red onion diced fine and saute 3-5 minutes.Add 2-4 cups of chopped mushrooms. I like to mix criminis and chantrelles or whatever I can get.Saute until the mushrooms squeak. Add 1-2 cloves of garlic smashed and minced finely for a minute or less. Add 2 Tbsp whole wheat flower and stir well. Add 3-4 cups Organic Vegetable stock and stir until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Consider some fresh thyme or rosemary to finish.
Be very well and more soon....
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