Casseroles are a staple for any family's weekly dinner plans. They are a great way to combine multiple dishes together to form a unique and filling meal, but they're not always the healthiest choice. Here at BeLite Weight, we would like to pass along a deliciously great AND healthy recipe for a green bean and shallots casserole.
To start, we'll need:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 medium shallots cut up into rings. About 1 cup full
- 1 1/2 pounds of thin fresh string beans, preferably trimmed
- 1 pound of sliced button mushrooms
- 6 large and minced garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped thyme
- 3 cups of low-fat milk, either 1 or 2%.
- 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, of freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon of grounded nutmeg
- Salted and freshly ground peppers, as much as you like, personal preference.
- Olive oil cooking spray
Once we have all the ingredients together, it's time to get cooking.
- First, we'll preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and heat the olive oil over a medium-to-high heat, until it's warm but no exactly emitting smoke.
- Then, we'll add a ¼ cup of our shallots and stir it until it's been cooked to a golden brown light crisp; this takes usually up to 2-3 minutes.
- Once cooked, make sure the shallots are drained of the oil and put into a plate. Repeat the process until all the shallots are cooked and make sure to save and leave the oil on your pan/skillet.
- Next we will steam cook the green beans for about 3-4 minutes.
Now that the green beans and shallots are cooked, it's time to start preparing the casserole dish.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of the left over oil from the shallots and put into a larger non-stick skillet and heat on medium-to-high heat.
- While heating the oil, start adding your mushrooms to allow them to cook and stir them occasionally until the mushrooms begin to visibly brown. This normally takes around 10-12 minutes.
- Mix in the garlic and thyme, stir for about a minute, and then pour the mixture into a bowl.
- With the skillet still heated, whisk milk and flour together until they are a homogenous mix and add the mix to the skillet. Then re-add your mushroom mixture and steadily whisk it until the mixture starts simmering.
- Lower the heat and allow the mixture to thicken. This usually takes about 15 minutes.
- Remove the mushroom/flour/milk mixture from the heat and stir it together with the green beans and add the Parmesan cheese, parsley, nutmeg, ¾ teaspoons of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
- Finally, spray a large baking dish with cooking oil and transfer the new green bean mix into the dish. Spread the cooked shallots on top and sprinkle the dish with any leftover cheese.
- Let bake for about 20 minutes or until the dish is gold color.
- Enjoy!
