For Button Mushroom day, I’m making one of my most enjoyed recipes of… all time? I make this *not* just around Thanksgiving (5 Frimaire) but all year long.  It was one of the only vegetables my then-one year old would eat, so there was a time when I was making this once a week. The recipe is pretty simple except for the onion topping. I’ve always used Alton Brown’s recipe, but have developed a hybrid onion variation that involves some baking and some frying. I’ve included both variations so you, gentle reader, can choose to do one, the other, or both. Granted, button mushrooms are not really the star of this dish, but play a vital role, I assure you. And, did you know that button mushrooms are simply young portobellos? I didn’t.

Green Bean Casserole 

Beans and sauce

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed

2 tbs butter

12 oz button mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 tbs all purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup half-and-half

Topping, 2 ways 

2 medium onions, sliced on a mandolin

Baking

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup panko

1 tsp salt

Frying

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups club soda

1 1/4 cups rice flour

Safflower oil for frying

First, preheat the oven to 350. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and boil the green beans for 3-4 minutes, until they turn bright green. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve in a bowl of ice water.

Next, the sauce. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms, some salt and pepper and cook over medium for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and nutmeg and cook for another minute. Add the two tablespoons of all purpose flour and stir. Cook for another minute or so and add the chicken broth and half. Simmer for a few minutes until the mixture thickens.

Place the cooled and drained green beans in a casserole dish and add the cream of mushroom soup you just made. Stir to combine and set aside.

Now, for the onions. If you are going to bake the onions, pour the milk into a medium bowl and the panko and salt into another bowl. In batches, wet the onions in the milk and then coat with the panko. Spread them on a large baking sheet that has been lined with parchment or a silpat. Bake until they start to turn golden brown about 20 minutes.

To fry the onions and get a crispier texture, heat up about two inches of safflower oil in a large pot. Mix the rice flour, salt, club soda and egg yolk in a medium bowl. When the oil is hot enough to fry, start dipping the onions into the rice flour mixture and dropping them into the oil with a spider or slotted spoon. Fry until golden brown and remove to a paper lined plate.

Once the onions are done, take about a half cup of onions and mix them into the green bean mixture. Top with the remaining onions. Bake the dish at 350 until bubbly, about 15 minutes. Enjoy!