About this time of year a lot of people come to this site searching for green bean recipes. We have several, but most of them are geared to the summer, when we have a bountiful supply of fresh green beans. I wanted to make something that would work well with fresh or frozen beans, so we could enjoy it during any season. In this recipe, green beans are first lightly boiled (I used frozen), then tossed with cremini and shiitake mushrooms and onions that have been sautéed in butter. Finally, sour cream is added to bring everything together. If the sour cream seems odd, think of this as a stroganoff. With green beans.
Okay, I’ll be the first to admit it. This is not the most attractive dish I’ve ever made. (The photo might be pretty, but that has more to do with the lighting than anything else.) In fact, I hesitated posting it, because, well, I like my food to look appealing. But, you know what? It tastes great. Even reheated leftovers. So, here’s my advice. Sprinkle it with lots of parsley and go for it.
Creamy Green Beans and Mushrooms Recipe
I used a combination of 3/4 lb of cremini and 1/4 pound of shiitake mushrooms for this recipe. The ratio of mushrooms to beans is 1:1. If you wanted, you could use all shiitake mushrooms, but use half as much, because they pack so much more flavor.
Add to shopping list
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen, cut into 1-inch pieces (if fresh, remove ends, if frozen get pre-cut)
- 1 pound mushrooms (cremini, button, shiitake), thickly sliced
- Salt
- 1/2 cup onions, chopped
- 2 Tbs butter
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley for garnish
METHOD
1 Put 2 quarts of water, salted with 1 tbsp of salt, in a pot to boil while you cut the mushrooms and onions.
2 Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and dry sauté them until they begin to release their water. Sprinkle them with a little salt. Once they have released most of their water, remove them to a bowl and set aside.
3 Add the green beans to the boiling water, and time them for 5 minutes, or until just tender. (No need to defrost frozen beans.)
4 Add butter to the hot sauté pan. Once the butter has melted, add the onions. Cook until the onions are beginning to brown.
5 As soon as the green beans are cooked just tender, strain them. Add the mushrooms to the pan with the onions, then add the green beans.
6 Remove from heat. Stir in the sour cream. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve.