This bean recipe has it all: It’s delicious, beautiful, and fun to make. It struck me recently just how long I’ve been making this dish for holiday dinners. I remember exactly where I was when I found the recipe. I was in the waiting room at my physical therapist’s office, early for my appointment (as usual), and killing time reading magazines. I was very excited to find a great vegetable recipe for the holidays. Confession: Green bean casserole has never been one of my favorites. Not even when I was a kid and everybody overcooked veggies as a matter of course, and cooking with a can of soup first became a thing and was all the rage. So I jumped on this one when I found it. I don’t recall which magazine it was, but the receptionist kindly photocopied the recipe for me. The therapist had just returned from maternity leave. Her son is in college now! Give these beans a try — maybe you’ll still be making them twenty years from now!

You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of this page. I’ve calculated the nutrition information as sixteen servings, omitting the frizzled shallots. I just don’t know how to accurately estimate how much fat stays with them. 

Ingredients:

4 large Shallots

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

2 to 3 cups peanut oil for frying

candy or frying thermometer

3 pounds fresh green beans

1 large lemon

4 Tbsp butter

Preparation:

1.) In a 4-qt saucepan, start the oil heating over medium to medium-high heat. Line a plate with a few layers of paper towel; set aside. Peel and slice the shallots very thinly (1.5 mm or less), and separate them into rings. A mandoline is helpful but not crucial. Yes, rubbing your hands on stainless steel (a bar made for that purpose, or even a pot or sink) really does remove the onion smell from your hands!

2.) Mix the flour and salt together in a plastic food bag, tight-lidded container, or bowl.

3.) When the oil reaches 360℉, you’re ready to frizzle. Put about a third of the shallot rings in with the flour, put the lid on, and shake or stir to coat. Fish the rings out and shake them gently in a fine mesh strainer to remove the excess flour.

4.) Carefully, gently, drop the floured shallot rings into the hot oil. Fry for just a minute or two, stirring occasionally.

5.) When they just begin to look a bit golden, use a slotted spoon or a strainer with larger openings to transfer them to the paper towels. Don’t wait for them to look brown. They seem lighter against the oil than they will once out, and will continue cooking for a few minutes until they’re cool. Wait for the oil to return to temperature, then repeat the process with the middle and last thirds. Once all the shallots are cooked and completely cooled, you can put them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four hours. Just bring them out to room temperature ten minutes or so before serving.

6.) Trim the beans and snap them into one-inch pieces. Steam until heated through but still a bit crisp, about five to ten minutes; drain. Take them out when they’re still a bit crisper than you want them to be for serving because they’ll continue to cook a bit more from their own residual heat. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Note: If you want to prepare the beans the day before, take them out a bit sooner and plunge them into an ice water bath. Store them in the fridge in a tightly sealed container.

7.) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. (If you cooked your beans ahead, use a pan large enough to add the beans to later.) Grate a tablespoon of zest from the lemon onto a piece of wax paper or parchment and add it to the melted butter. Cook for about thirty seconds. Keep warm until serving time.

8.) Squeeze the lemon for about 3 Tbsp of juice. Stir the juice and the butter mixture into the beans. Sprinkle with shallots to serve.