Green Bean Gratin

By á-4922

You can trim and blanch the green beans for this recipe up to 2 days in advance. Store them in a plastic sealable bag in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus more for the baking dish
• three-four ths cup sliced shallots
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, finely diced
• 8 to 10 ounces mixed sliced mushrooms such as shiitake (remove stems) and cremini
• Kosher salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• one-four th cup dry sherry
• 2 cups whole or 2 percent milk
• 1 round (5 and one-fourth ounces) Boursin cheese (regular or light)
• one-four th teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
• three-four ths cup panko bread crumbs
• three-four ths cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
• three-four ths cup sliced almonds

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish or favorite casserole dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice water bath. Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the beans, then plunge them into the ice bath to stop the cooking. When beans are chilled, drain and set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and the mushrooms have given up their liquid, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in the sherry, mixing well, then add the milk while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute, then cook for 3 minutes longer.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the Boursin cheese, one-half teaspoon salt, pepper, lemon zest and tarragon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Add the reserved green beans and toss to combine. Transfer to the baking dish. (The recipe may be prepared up to this point 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

To finish: In a small bowl, stir together the panko, Parmesan and almonds. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and pour over the bread crumb mixture and toss to combine. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the green beans. Bake until the topping is golden and the bean mixture is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.