For some reason green bean casserole has become ubiquituous with Thankgiving. It's am American classic that continues to be loved despite its' reputation? Why?
Chef and regular contributor Eric KIn wrote about this standard in yesterday's New York Times Food section. The recipe iself was devveloped as an extra for Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup at a time when cassaroles were all the rage. It was the mid 1950;s, 55 to be exact when Dorcas. B Reilly created this odd combo of green beans soup and frittered onions doused with soy sauce and black pepper.It was an innovator because no on had thought to add onion rings to a casserole before. The inspiration came from longtime food editor and writer Cecily Brownstone when she had dined on something similar at a press conference in Florida. She called it "Beans and stuff', a simpl casserole of green beans with an intriguing topping.It swept th nation. Now it's being deconstructed, thanks to Chef KO, who is simply taking it apart or as he puts it "taking apart a toy to see how it works".How do you take something with parts made from processed food and turn those parts into something fresh and organic.
It starts with the soup itself. Nix that and create a simple white sauce. Leave the mushrooms out if so that the green beans alone will shine. Another must have in the recipe is celery salt .It'll give the casserole a quiet unami flavoring.This is important ingredient when making the sauce - a simple blend of heavy cream, butter and white four.It's superb at bringing out the flavors of the celery salt and another ingredient nutmeg. As for the green beans themselves, Mr. KIm recommnends using frozen ones that will be braised in chicken stock, Doing such will bring out their vegetal nuttiness. DON"T use canned green beans. They'll disintegrate into green mush thanks to all that time in the liquid. Keep the topping of French's crispy fried onions. YOu could try to reolicate them by placing chopped white oniona and frazzling them in an air fryer. However the cammed ones are everyone's favorite part. They do add savoriness and crunch, which is what this bake needs.
Yes, you can deconstruct a classic Thanksgiving recipe. It's easier than you think. The end result is an elevated version of the classic green bean casserole.
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