Caramelized Frozen Green Beans with Mushrooms

I am trying to clean out our freezer before the move and I realized that I have a whole lot of frozen green beans that I never use.  I always defer to broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and asparagus.  I'm glad I tried this recipe for green beans because Jeremy and I both loved it.  None of my kids would eat them, but you can't win 'em all.

Caramelized Frozen Green Beans with Mushrooms

This recipe is originally from cookbook author Anne Willan who calls them "burnt beans." It deals with the problem of mushy green beans, which is what happens when you cook any frozen green bean--even those you've picked, blanched and frozen straight from your garden. But in this recipe, the beans slow cook until crispy. Don't fret the butter.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

·         6 tablespoons unsalted butter

·         1 pound frozen green beans

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/8 teaspoon black pepper

·         1 medium shallot, diced

·         1 package mushrooms, sliced

Instructions

1.      Heat a large cast-iron pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter. 

2.      When the butter foams, add the green beans, stir to coat them in the butter and leave them to heat until they're no longer frost coated, about 5 minutes. 

3.      Add the salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low so that you can still hear them sizzling and stir the beans intermittently until they shrink, wrinkle and about half of them are darkly colored, about 30 minutes more. 

4.      Add the shallots and mushrooms for the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking until the mushrooms brown and the shallots soften (you may need to turn up the heat for this in order to keep caramelizing, as the mushrooms will introduce more liquid, but watch it an turn it back down if it gets too hot).

5.      Taste for seasoning before serving. 

https://lynnecurry.com/2012/02/best-frozen-green-beans/