Green Bean Casserole

Fill a large pot halfway with water and salt it well. Bring it to a rolling boil, drop in the trimmed green beans and cook them for five minutes. Drain them and set them aside. They finish cooking in the oven later, so you want them bright and still a little firm.

Wipe the pot dry and set it over medium-high heat. Cook the chopped bacon until it is properly crisp, then lift it out and leave about three tablespoons of the rendered fat behind. That fat carries the smoky flavour through the whole sauce.

Add the sliced mushrooms and diced onion to the bacon fat. Saute for five minutes, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms give up their water and the onion turns soft and translucent.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in the minced garlic for thirty seconds, just until it smells good. Sprinkle the all-purpose flour over the top, mix it in and let it cook for one full minute. This cooks out the raw flour taste before any liquid goes in.

Pour in the chicken broth slowly, whisking the whole time so no lumps form. Keep stirring and let it come together and start to thicken.

Pour in the heavy cream, still whisking as you go. Season with black pepper and salt, then bring the sauce up to a gentle simmer. By the time it simmers it should coat the back of a spoon.

Turn off the heat and add the shredded medium cheddar. Stir it through the hot sauce until it melts completely and the whole thing goes glossy.

Tip the drained green beans into the pot and fold them through until every bean is coated. Hold the bacon back for now - it goes on top at the end so it stays crisp.

Scrape everything into a baking dish and spread it into a single even layer. Scatter more shredded cheddar over the top, then a generous handful of crispy fried onions. Go heavy on the onions if you like them.

Bake at 350F for twenty minutes. Pull it out, scatter the crisp bacon over the top and return it to the oven for five more minutes. Let it rest about fifteen minutes before serving so the sauce sets.