Green Beans with Roasted Garlic and Mushrooms

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Green Beans with Roasted Garlic and Mushrooms
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Here is a great way to dress up green beans for a gourmet side dish or main course.


Yields: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 large head garlic (to make about 2 Tbsp. roasted garlic paste)

Roasted garlic (see comments below)

1/2 lb. cremini or portobello mushrooms, sliced about 1/8” thick

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, ends trimmed then cut diagonally into roughly 2” lengths (about 6 cups, trimmed)

1 cup vegetable broth

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon or fennel fronds

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste


Preparation

The Night Before Roast garlic (see Notes).

In a large saute pan, heat the oil until quite warm, then add the mushroom slices and cook over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes, until their moisture is evaporated and they are lightly browned. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Remove from heat.

While the mushrooms cook, prepare the beans. Combine them with the broth in a large saute pan with a lid. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until almost tender when tested with a fork.

While beans cook, squeeze the roasted garlic from skins into a small bowl.

Finely chop the fresh herbs and set aside.

When beans are almost tender, remove the lid and push the beans to the sides of pan. Add the roasted garlic to center of pan and, using a large fork, mash and blend with remaining vegetable broth to form a thin paste. Blend in the olive oil, then stir the garlic paste into beans to coat. Stir in the cooked mushrooms, fennel or tarragon, and salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 more minutes or until all of broth has evaporated and flavors have melded. Serve immediately.

Additional Tips

Garlic Roasting Notes:

Roasted garlic is deliciously different than raw or sauteed garlic - it is very mellow and almost sweet-tasting.

To roast: Preheat the oven to 350 (F). Rub a head of garlic with about 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Place inside a garlic roaster, small glass baking dish with a lid, or just wrap in foil. Bake about 45-60 minutes until the garlic head is soft when squeezed from the sides.

To remove the pulp: Once garlic has cooled, slice off the root end of the garlic head with a serrated knife. being sure to slice across every clove. Squeeze the garlic from skins. Alternatively, if the garlic is very cool, the roasted cloves might just pop out whole once the root end of the head is sliced off. Store in a covered container.

Recipe from the Collection of
Healthy Eating Coach Mary Collette Rogers
author of Take Control of Your Kitchen


Recipe by
Mary Rogers