The holidays are just around the corner and every Thanksgiving this is a prerequisite dish in our house – classic Green Bean Casserole with a boost of flavor.
To begin, start a pot of water to blanch your green beans.
Meanwhile, dice 2/3 cup of onion and mince 2 cloves of garlic. Set those aside for a moment.
In a saucepan, sauté 1/4 pound diced Prosciutto in 2 tablespoons of butter.
Note: I have recently found a Prosciutto made from beef. It is called Bresaola. If you eat biblically clean, you can use that in this recipe.
When the Prosciutto is golden, scoop it out with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot.
Do your best to resist eating it…okay, maybe just one piece.
Toss in the onions & garlic and sauté until just tender.
Add in 2 additional tablespoons of butter and let it melt. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup of flour. Stir it together and let it cook for just a minute.
Pour in 3 cups of whole milk and whisk together.
Add in 3/4 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Stir this together and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring continually. Let it bubble for one minute and turn off the heat.
Add in a cup of grated extra sharp cheddar cheese. Stir until it is melted in. Set it aside for a moment.
Blanch 2 pounds of frozen or fresh green beans (trimmed & cut). If fresh, blanch for 3 minutes. If frozen, make it 4 minutes.
Immediately drain them and run under cold water, or plunge into a bowl of ice water.
Stir the beans, milk sauce, and Prosciutto together in a mixing bowl.
Pour the mixture into a casserole dish.
Sprinkle 3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbly.
Enjoy!
Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- ⅔ c diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ lb Prosciutto, diced (or Bresaola – a beef version)
- 4 Tb butter, divided
- ¼ c flour
- 3 c whole milk
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 c extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 lb frozen or fresh green beans, trimmed and cut
- ¾ c panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- To begin, start a pot of water to blanch your green beans.
- Meanwhile, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Set those aside for a moment.
- In a saucepan, sauté the Prosciutto in 2 tablespoons of the butter. When the Prosciutto is golden, scoop it out with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot. Toss in the onions & garlic and sauté until just tender. Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and let it melt. Sprinkle in the flour. Stir it together and let it cook for just a minute. Pour in the whole milk and whisk together.
- Add the salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir this together and cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring continually. Let it bubble for one minute and turn off the heat.
- Add in the grated extra sharp cheddar cheese. Stir until it is melted in. Set it aside for a moment.
- Blanch the green beans. If fresh, blanch for 3 minutes. If frozen, make it 4 minutes. Immediately drain them and run under cold water, or plunge into a bowl of ice water.
- Stir the beans, milk sauce, and Prosciutto together in a mixing bowl. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish. Sprinkle the panko bread crumbs over the top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbly.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
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The green bowl you used was a carbon copy of one my Mom used to use constantly. She is with the Lord now in Heaven but she was a fantastic cook and being her and my Dad’s only child, I was the one to enjoy it all and it sure showed on my hips. Good old Pa Dutch gal that I was. How homesick I instantly became to see Mom when I saw your bowl. It brought back a ton of precious memories. And she even made a green bean recipe like your’s, Thanks! God bless.
Thank you Constance for the nice casserole.