Green Bean Casserole You Can Feel Good About Eating RECIPE

This recipe was sent to me by my friend Tanner. Not only is it supposed to be vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo-friendly, it is also supposed to be BETTER than everyone's traditional recipe? Who knows? Maybe THIS recipe  was created by Irvin Lin, and maybe it will make me a Green Bean Casserole lover. You can find this recipe and more at www.eatthelove.com.

VEGAN GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Special Notes

The cashews need to be raw and they need to soak overnight in water.

You can purchase almond meal or just take plain unsalted almonds and grind them into a powder in a food processor. (You could substitute cornstarch, glutinous rice flour or tapioca flour instead, and if you don't have gluten sensitivity, regular flour).

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews
3 large shallots, sliced into 1/8 inch thickness
1/4 cup almond meal or flour
1 tablespoon arrowroot flour (or cornstarch)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons olive oil
10 oz sliced mushrooms
1 medium chopped onion
6 medium cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, tips snipped off
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 fresh bay leaf or 2 dry bay leaves
1 cup vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

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Directions

1. Place the cashews in a bowl, until they are completely submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Once the cashews have soaked, drain them and rinse thoroughly. Place the cashews in a blender or food processor and add 1/2 cup of water. Process on high speed until pureed into a thick cream consistency.

2. Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels. Place the shallot slices in a bowl and sprinkle the almond meal, flour, ground pepper, and salt over the shallots. Toss to evenly coat. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a  pan  on high. Once the oil starts to shimmer, reduce the heat to medium high and add the coated shallots and fry them, stirring constantly, until they are golden brown. Once they are golden brown, move them to the baking sheet.

3. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the pan and turn to medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms, stirring frequently, until they are brown. Pour the mushrooms and any  liquid, into a  bowl.

4. Add the final 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook until they soften. Add the garlic, green beans, thyme, bay leaves, pureed cashews and vegetable stock. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are slightly tender but crisp in the center. Add the mushrooms and liquid and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, or until the green beans are tender and the sauce has thickened. Once done, season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the thyme and bay leaves before plating and sprinkle the fried shallots over the green beans before serving.

This recipe serves 6.