Green Bean Casserole

1. Gather and prep ingredients.
2. Start by making the ‘cream of mushroom soup’. In a medium bowl add cashews.
3. Pour boiling water over them, enough to cover. Let them soak for 15 minutes.
4. While soaking, heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in onion and garlic.
5. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until translucent and cooked through, set aside.
6. Now that your cashews have soaked, drain the water and discard.
7. Set up your high-speed blender or food processor, and add in the cashews along with your onion, garlic, broth, and almond milk.
8. Blend until extremely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Once smooth, set aside.
9. Bring a large pot with water to a boil, this is for blanching our green beans.
10. While waiting for the water to boil, get a large bowl filled with ice water, with room to add green beans once cooked.
11. Now that your water is boiling, add in green beans and cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender then drain and transfer to your ice water to prevent further cooking.
12. In the same pan, you cooked your onion and garlic in, reheat over medium heat and add in the other tablespoon of oil to cook mushrooms. Don’t worry about washing the pan in between, we want all those good caramelized bits.
13. Cook mushrooms for 8-10 minutes making sure to brown them.
14. Now we will deglaze the pan with the wine.
15. Add in the wine and cook for a minute.
16. Next, add in cashew mixture and bring to a low simmer.
17. Then add in lemon  juice and stir, turn off the heat, and set aside.
18. Preheat the oven to 400°F 400°F (200°C)
19. In a large bowl add ‘cream of mushroom soup’ and green beans.
20. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
21. Gently mix until combined.
22. Transfer to a large casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
23. While the green bean casserole is baking, carefully bring palm oil to medium-high heat in a pot.
24. Once heated add in thinly sliced shallots and let fry for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crispy. I usually do this in two batches to prevent overcrowding.
25. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and place shallots on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
26. After the 20 minutes has elapsed, add crispy shallots to the top of the casserole and bake for another 5 minutes.
27. Remove from the oven, and serve immediately. Enjoy!

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