Twas the Week Before Thanksgiving...

Twas the week before Thanksgiving and all ‘round the blogs,
The masses were hunting for pie and eggnog
The posts were all hung on the pages with care
In hopes that their readers would enjoy them with flair!
The foodies were ready with pencils and pad
To jot down some recipes they were craving “real bad”
When what to their wondering eyes did they find?
But a green bean casserole, of the Gluten Free kind!
With an ingredient list so wholesome and free,
They knew in a moment, “this dish is for me!”

Yep, I Veganized and SCD-ified the classic standby – Green Bean Casserole!  -- Canned green beans with cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions. Sounds like a dish out of the fifties doesn’t it?! Not my version, friends. I used fresh, organic green beans, a homemade mushroom soup, and homemade baked onion rings! It was remarkable. 

And, it’s Gluten Free, Vegan, Body Ecology Diet friendly and Specific Carb Diet friendly!

Here’s what you need:

3 cups of fresh green beans, blanched

Soup:
5 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms – I used 1 carton of shiitake and 1 carton of button (BED use shiitake only)
1/2 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp minced fresh rosemary
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

Onion Rings:
1/2 onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 cup almond flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 cracks of black pepper
1 egg white (Vegan option: almond milk)

Preheat oven to 375. Set up your “breading station.” You’ll need one bowl filled with your egg white (or almond milk). You’ll need another bowl filled with your almond flour, salt and pepper. Then, you’ll need a baking sheet that’s been covered with tin foil and  sprayed with olive oil.

Coat your onion rings with the egg, then with the almond flour, and then place on the baking sheet. Fair warning: this is a bit of a messy job. I find it’s helpful to have a “wet hand” and a “dry hand.” Once all your rings are coated and on your baking sheet, spritz them with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown, flipping half way through. Cut into 1 inch pieces, and set aside.

Meanwhile, blanch your green beans by boiling them for 2 minutes, and then shocking them in a bowl of ice water.

Next, the soup: Saute your onion and garlic in 1-2 tsp of EVOO, salt and pepper for about 4 minutes. Once they’ve softened, add your mushrooms and let them cook down. Transfer the veggies into your food processor along with the rosemary, coconut milk, and salt. Blend until smooth. It will be thick.

Finally, spray a small casserole dish with olive oil. Toss your green beans with the soup, and put in the casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. After you take it out of the oven, sprinkle your onion rings over the top. Then, dig in!

This was fantastic!! The flavor was so incredibly savory and homey. The slight hint of rosemary really elevated the flavor and gave it a gourmet touch! The onion rings on top were crunchy and had a toasty, nutty flavor from the almond flour.

And the casserole was just delicious with the fresh green beans! It was creamy and velvety and just…decadent:)

It was the only dish on the Thanksgiving table that we polished off!! Everyone loved it…no matter what diet they followed!

So give this classic update a try! You won't be disappointed!

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving recipes over the next few days!

Want more GFHT?  You can now get my e-cookbook, The Best of GlutenFreeHappyTummy for only $2.99 on Amazon!