Today, as I approach my 100th recipe from Martha’s American Food, I decided to keep it All American with a Green Bean Casserole from page 53.
This is the kind of recipe that’s puts a homemade twist on a nostalgic dish. In post World War II America, eating and cooking habits started to experience a drastic change. At the same time modern conveniences like washing machines and vacuum cleaners were becoming affordable for the middle classes, canned and pre-packaged foods were also appearing on the scene to make life easier for overworked housewives. The green bean casserole was created by the Campbell Soup Company in 1955 using their cream of mushroom soup with green beans and was a huge hit with women looking to make delicious but less labor intensive dishes for their families.
Martha’s recipe doesn’t stray too far from its roots in terms of flavor. The difference is that instead of using a canned soup you make a bechamel sauce and saute up some onions and mushrooms. With the toasty breadcrumbs, creamy sauce and the addition of fried shallots this casserole has a lot of nicely contrasting textures. The homemade bechamel sauce creates a greater depth of flavor than you can get with a can, making this green bean casserole a great nostalgic comfort food that surpasses the original.
I had this with some beef on the side. Normally, the veggies are the side dish and the meat is the main attraction, but Martha’s green bean casserole made itself the main attraction!
