Creamed Green Beans

Submitted by Bone Man

"This is a perfect dish for early and middle summer days when great-tasting, fresh green beans are both cheap and plentiful. These green beans represent something totally different for a stovetop side dish and you will simply not believe how terrific they taste. One plus is that it's not loaded with cheese or canned soup. This is the real thing from scratch, a recipe I developed after growing tired of the same old stuff at the supper table. It took me awhile to perfect but these beans actually made my wife turn around and look at me after her first bite -- she was very pleased, which means that I am very pleased too. This dish goes great with fried, or baked, bone-in pork chops. It's also versatile enough to complement more elegant entrees for more formal dinners. There are multiple steps involved in preparing this dish but even a beginning chef can achieve them easily enough and the end result is well worth the effort."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 lb fresh green beans, stringless
• 30 ounces chicken stock
• 4 tablespoons salted butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk, pre-warmed in microwave
• 1⁄2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper (from a can)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash seasoning mix (original)

directions

1. Rinse the beans in cold water and snap them into 1-inch lengths, discarding the tips. Remove any strings.
2. Pour the chicken stock into a medium-sized cooking pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans to the stock and cover until it boils again and then lower the heat to achieve a slow boil, covered, until the beans are tender but not mushy, (about 15 minutes).
3. When the beans are done, set aside for a few minutes.
4. Make the white sauce using a double boiler (you can make an improvised double boiler with a cooking pot with an inch of water in the bottom, in combination with a stainless steel salad bowl which sets atop of the pot). This white sauce CANNOT be prepared over direct heat or it will scorch.
5. Melt the butter in the top section of the double boiler. Blend in the flour, seasoned salt, and white pepper, whisking constantly.
6. When there are no lumps, add the pre-warmed milk (about 100 degrees F.) and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened a bit (after about 5 minutes), allow the sauce to bubble, still whisking with some frequency, for about 15 more minutes. At the end of the 15 minutes of simmering, the white sauce is done and should be taken off the heat.
7. Strain the chicken stock from the beans using a colander (save this stock in the refrigerator for your next batch of home made vegetable soup), reserving one-quarter cup of stock to blend into the white sauce.
8. Pour the drained beans into a cooking pot with the white sauce, including the quarter cup of broth, and add the Mrs. Dash and stir. Re-heat until it bubbles slightly and serve.

Reviews

[momobunk]

good recipe, very traditional and easy to accompany almost any entree. I will say that you don't have to double boil the sauce, you are just making a simply rue for what in the end is pretty much chicken gravy...just watch it carefully and your butter won't burn.

 

[puppitypup]

LOVED THEM! Wonderful flavor in every bite and very easy to make. I used frozen green beans, but they tasted fresh by the time they were done cooking in the broth. I added a dab of bacon grease to the broth to cook the beans and substituted Italian seasoning for Mrs Dash. Thanks for a great recipe Bone Man, I will definitely be making again, please see my rating system.