I used to think that the only way to get crispy onions to top a traditional holiday green bean dish was to deep fry them. Not so! Roasting thinly sliced onions or shallots in the oven achieves the same deep-roasted taste and crispy crunch without a ton of oil. Yes, I used a small amount of cooking oil spray to keep them from burning and drying out, but it was probably less than 1 teaspoon for this entire dish – and it serves at least 6!
If you are pressed for time, you can just toss raw slivered almonds on top of this dish before serving, but I highly recommend spending an extra 5 – 10 minutes to dry toast them. It adds soooooo much flavor and the crunchy bite that adds out-of-this-world exciting,deliciousness.
As if the crispy shallots and toasted almonds aren’t enough, what adds an whole new level of awesomeness is the seasoned breadcrumbs. If you want to throw caution to the wind and fry them up in some olive oil (or, gasp, butter!), that’s your business. But I just dry-toasted them in a non-stick skillet and sprinkled them on top. The heat of the pan brings out the golden brown color of the breadcrumbs and draws out the flavor of the rosemary and thyme like it’s nobody’s business.
You can prepare the crispy shallots and breadcrumbs a day ahead of time. Just cook them up and gently wrap in a thin layer on paper towels and store them in separate brown bags, gently sealed with plenty of air inside the bag. Then warm up in a dry non-stick skillet and sprinkle on top of the freshly cooked green beans and you are good to go!
Ingredients (serves about 6)
1 pound fresh green beans – hard ends trimmed off
2 large shallots -thinly sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds – toasted, if desired
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs – about 4 thin slices of whole grain bread dried out over night and pulsed in a food processor or blender
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoons dried rosemary
cooking oil spray
pinch of salt and pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place one rack just above the middle of the oven and another just below the middle, so it can accommodate 2 separate baking sheets.
- Lightly coat a baking sheet with a very thin layer of cooking oil spray. Spread the thinly sliced shallots over the baking sheet in a single layer. Dust the top of the shallots with a light layer of cooking oil spray. Place on the upper rack in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes until brown and crispy, flipping with a spatula half way through. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
- While the shallots are baking, bring a pot of water to boil. Blanche the green beans for 2 minutes and immediately drain off the hot water, quickly run under cold water and pat dry. Place the green beans in a single layer on a baking sheet lightly coated with a dusting of cooling oil spray and place in the oven on the lower rack. Cook for about 5 – 10 minutes. Then flip the beans with a spatula and cook another 5 minutes. They should be thoroughly cooked, but not dried out. Keep an eye on them and remove when cooked.
- Also while the shallots are baking, place the slivered almonds in a non-stick skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes until they begin to cook. Then reduce the heat to low or medium-low, stirring constantly, for about another 5 minutes until they become golden brown or to desired done-ness. Remove from heat and set aside in a cool plate.
- Place the dried bread slices (cut or pulled into small chunks), the thyme, rosemary, a couple pinches of salt and some freshly ground pepper into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Then place in a non-stick skillet over high heat. After 1 – 2 minutes (when you can smell the herbs releasing their scent), reduce the heat to low to medium-low and stir constantly until the breadcrumbs turn a deep golden brown. This should take about 5 – 7 minutes depending on the heat. When toasted, remove from heat and set aside on a cool plate. (Option – add about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the breadcrumbs and gently fry/cook until golden brown.)
- To serve, place the green beans in an even layer on a serving tray. Spread the crispy shallots over the top, followed the toasted almonds and topped with the breadcrumbs. Serve immediately.
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