Clean Green Bean Casserole (Vegan, Paleo)
Author: Detoxinista.com
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins
Serves: 9-12
Featuring fresh green beans and caramelized onions, this
homemade green bean casserole is just about as clean as it gets. Rather than
relying on a cream-based soup, it's held together by a creamy puree of parsnips
and mushrooms! The caramelized onion topping still delivers the buttery onion
flavor that we all love, without the deep-fried grease and flour to go along
with it. All of our favorite flavors covered, without the heavy food-coma to
follow!
Ingredients
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon coconut oil, or butter
2 cups parsnips, chopped
10 oz. mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1½ cups water
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 lb. fresh green beans
Instructions
Melt a pat of coconut oil, or butter, in a large skillet
and add the sliced onions. Saute gently over medium-low heat for about 45
minutes, stirring occasionally until caramelized. Use a splash of water, as
needed, to prevent sticking. Once the onions are tender and golden in color,
remove from heat and set aside in a bowl for later.
While the onions are cooking, you'll have plenty of time
to steam the parsnips. Fit a steamer basket into a saucepan, and fill with one
inch of water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the 2 cups of chopped parsnips, and bring the water to boil
over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to low, steaming for about 8 minutes,
or until the parsnips are easily pierced with a fork. Transfer the steamed
parsnips to your blender container, and set it aside.
Using the same steamer basket and saucepan, break the
pound of fresh green beans into one-inch pieces, and toss them into the steamer
basket. Bring to a boil, then cover and steam for 6-8 minutes, until the green
beans are bright green with a bit of crunch. Transfer the cooked green beans to
an 8" x 8" glass baking dish.
*Note: At this point, cook the green beans to be as
tender as you like-- if you prefer them softer, steam them longer. The baking
process later will not make them any more tender, so this is your chance to
achieve the texture you like. (This is where I salt and pepper the green beans a little.)
Once the onions have finished caramelizing, you can use
the same pan to saute the mushrooms and garlic. Melt another pat of coconut oil
or butter, and saute the garlic for about 3 minutes, then add the mushrooms.
Cook for about 6 minutes, until liquid is released from the mushrooms.
Spread half of the mushroom mixture into the baking dish
of green beans, and pour the other half of the mixture, along with any liquid,
into the blender container with the steamed parsnips.
Into that blender container, add 1½ cups water, 1½
teaspoons sea salt and ¼ cup of nutritional yeast to the cooked parsnips and
mushrooms. Blend until smooth and creamy. (This mixture may be a bit salty to
taste at this point, but keep in mind that it will be diluted when it's poured
over a pound of green beans!)
Pour the creamy sauce over the green beans and mushrooms
in the glass baking dish, and stir to coat well. (You may very well have more
sauce than you need for this recipe-- I only used about 1½ cups to coat the
vegetables well. Save the rest for a future dish!)
Smooth the creamy vegetable mixture with a spatula, and
top with the caramelized onions to finish.
*At this point, you could cover the dish and store it in
the fridge until you're ready to heat and serve.
When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350F and
bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, until bubbly. Serve warm and enjoy!
