French Green Bean Casserole

No entrée shines without a deliciously sexy side dish, and nothing says sexy like "French" in its name. Yup, I'm being vain! Inspired by a very American dish with a twist of decadence, this French Green Bean Casserole will dress up your fabulous entrée with a dose of sexiness. 


INGREDIENTS
...serves four
eight ounces of French green beans, trimmed
one shallot, diced
two celery stalks, sliced
three ounces of Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
a quarter pound of Gruyère, grated
two ounces of pancetta, small cubes
two tablespoons of butter, melted
one cup of panko
a quarter cup of heavy whipping cream
six ounces of crème fraîche

Preheat the oven to 375 °f. Bring a pot of water, enough to cover the beans, to boil. Boil the beans for three minutes. Remove from the heat, place in a colander to run under cold water, drain, and set aside. In a pan over medium-high heat, cook the pancetta until crisp. Remove from the heat. Set it aside on two layers of paper towels over a plate. Keep as much grease in the pan, and stir-fry shallots and celery. Once shallots start to soften, add mushrooms and stir-fry for another minute or two. Remove from the heat.

In a bowl, mix heavy whipping cream, crème fraîche and Gruyere. Add other prepared ingredients, except for butter and panko. Mix well and move to a baking dish. Layer panko on top and drizzle melted butter. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it sit for five to ten minutes. Toss to mix the panko and serve. Bon appétit!

ps: Regular green beans beautifully substitute for French green beans. Just make sure to boil them for an additional minute or two since they tend to be bigger and less tender than the French green beans. 

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