Green Beans with Mushroom Madeira Sauce
I have never made this recipe before, so Thanksgiving will be my first shot at it. However, even though I’ve never made it before, I wouldn’t say that I’m going in completely blind. Before we get to the food, I’ll explain what goes through my head when I pick one recipe over another.
1. Ingredients: I should be confident that the combination of the ingredients will provide a delicious result. I’m a fairly experienced cook, so I think the ingredients will go well not only together but also with the rest of the meal.
2. Methods: Even though I usually adapt the recipe to use methods that will produce the results I prefer, they should still make sense. For this particular recipe, sauteing the shallots and mushroom, then deglazing them in the Madeira before adding the cream makes perfect sense, as does blanching fresh green beans before combining them. I like the idea of deep frying the leeks, though I may elect to dust them with flour/cornstarch first.
3. Ratings and Reviews: I tend to prefer recipes that other people have found to work. I look for something that has a lot of reviews, and prefer something reviewed by 50 people with a 3.5 star rating over a recipe reviewed by 2 people that rated 4 stars. Just my opinion.
So let’s get on to the recipe!
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
6 ounces oyster mushrooms, sliced
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
1/2 cup Madeira
1 cup whipping cream
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise
Method:
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add all mushrooms and thyme; sauté 5 minutes.
Add 2 tablespoons shallots; sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes.
Add Madeira and simmer until almost all liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes.
Add cream and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Set sauce aside.
Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 5 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water; cool. Drain. (Sauce and beans can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover separately; chill.)
Pour enough oil into large deep saucepan to reach depth of 4 inches. Heat oil to 350°F.
Lightly dust leeks in a 1:1 mixture of flour and cornstarch.
Place 1/4 of leeks in small metal strainer. Lower strainer into oil; fry until golden, 40 seconds. Lift strainer from oil.
Drain leeks on paper towels. Repeat with remaining leeks in 3 more batches. Season leeks with salt.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add beans and remaining 1 tablespoon shallots; toss to heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Place beans on platter.
Bring sauce to simmer. Spoon sauce over beans.
Sprinkle with fried leeks.
Tags: Thanksgiving
