Remaking a family favorite for a healthier holiday
Who hasn't prepared or tasted what has become the traditional holiday green bean casserole made with cream of mushroom soup and French-fried onion rings?
When that casserole's on the buffet table, I politely scoot around it since I don't find it too appealing and it's full of fat, especially if you follow the standard suggestion to add cheese. A single serving, with cheese, delivers 218 calories (56.6 percent from fat) and 13.7 fat grams. Not so terrific.
I grew up enjoying a delicious green bean casserole of a different sort. My mom made hers with canned green beans, a sour cream and Swiss cheese sauce and sliced almonds on top. A single serving brought 442 calories (65.6 percent from fat) and a whopping 33.3 fat grams to each plate. Mauer holiday meals weren't complete without it.
I knew Mom's recipe didn't fit into my lean lifestyle, so I set out to remake it. I've never been a fan of canned green beans and fresh beans would require blanching, adding to the recipe's hassle-factor. So I tried frozen French-cut beans. They cooked perfectly in the new, leaner casserole without any fuss except getting the beans out to defrost.
Mom always used processed Swiss cheese and I didn't understand why until I made her recipe with real, aged Swiss cheese. What a gooey, stringy mess. Processed Swiss (92 calories and 6.8 fat grams per ounce) doesn't deliver the nutty flavor of real Swiss (106 calories and 7.8 fat grams), but it melts beautifully and makes a smooth sauce.
Fortunately now there's nonfat processed Swiss cheese (40 calories) and, just like its full-fat cousin, it melts nicely. It didn't deliver quite the same flavor as real Swiss, but this substitution banished almost 900 calories and 115 fat grams.
Mom also used a pint of real sour cream (858 calories and 82.5 fat grams) in her casserole. My substitution of equal parts fat-free and reduced-fat sour creams trimmed 200 calories and 54 fat grams.
Almonds added great flavor notes to Mom's casserole, but each ounce also brought 164 calories and 14.4 fat grams. I wanted crunch and a nutlike flavor with far less, if any, fat so I picked cornflakes. The casserole bakes for more than 30 minutes, turning the cornflakes into a toasty, almost nutty topping. This substitution added 10 calories per serving, but cut 30 fat grams.
The first time I served my leaner version to family I didn't tell anyone what I'd done, just explained that I wanted to try a new topping. The flavor was so similar to Mom's recipe that no one noticed any other changes.
Why don't you give it a try. If you're not too persnickety about fat and calories, add 1 ounce of almonds to the cornflakes. You'll be surprised at how good this tastes.
• Write Don Mauer at don@theleanwizard.com
Lean green bean casserole
2 pounds frozen, French-cut, green beans
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, or trans fat free margarine
1/4 cup grated or minced onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup skim milk
16 ounces nonfat Swiss cheese slices
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2-1 teaspoon white pepper
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
Vegetable oil spray
4 cups cornflakes
A few hours before you're ready to make this casserole, remove green beans from the freezer and place in a bowl (to catch any water) and defrost at room temperature.
Add the butter to a 5-quart nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute 2 minutes, until softened. Stir in flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Whisk in the skim milk. With a spoon, stir in Swiss cheese slices. When the cheese melts add the sour cream, sugar and pepper; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat. Add the green beans to the pan, a handful at a time; stirring until coated.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray an oven-safe casserole dish with vegetable oil. Spread mixture evenly into casserole; sprinkle cornflakes on top and bake 30-35 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling and the cornflakes are slightly browned. Serve immediately.
Serves 10.
@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per serving: 242 calories (20.2 percent from fat), 5.4 g fat (3.5 g saturated, 31.3 g carbohydrates, 2.8 g fiber, 16.1 g protein, 31 mg cholesterol, 768 mg sodium.