Huffington Magazine Issue 76-77 | Page 74

Exit 4KODIAK/GETTY IMAGES INGREDIENTS ■ Skin of 1 chicken (you can either get this by buying a whole chicken and taking off the skin, or you can ask your butcher for them — sometimes they’ll give them to you free of charge) ■ 1 ½ lbs green beans, trimmed, blanched in salted water until fork-tender and chopped into 1-inch pieces ■ ½ lb cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped ■ ¼ lb shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped ■ 2 Tbsp butter ■ 2 tsp schmaltz ■ 3 shallots, diced ■ 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced ■ 2 Tbsp flour ■ ½ cup dry white wine ■ 1 cup chicken stock ■ ¼ cup heavy cream ■ Fried onions (any kind you like, but we used Onion Crunch) ■ Salt and pepper This green bean casserole incorporates both silky, rendered schmaltz and the crispy, impossibleto-stopsnacking-on fried chicken skin bits that result from making it.” EAT THIS HUFFINGTON 11.24-12.01.13 DIRECTIONS FOR THE SCHMALTZ AND GRIBENES: 1. C  ut your chicken skin into 1-inch, bite-sized pieces. The easiest way to do this is to chill the fat in the freezer for a few minutes so it firms up, and then just whack at it with kitchen shears, right into a cold skillet. 2. C  ook the skin and fat over low heat, until the fat starts to melt and the skins start to sizzle. Bump the heat up slightly to medium-low, and cook until the gribenes are brown and crispy — some recipes will tell you this takes 15-20 minutes, and that is a lie. It took us 45 minutes to get brown, crispy skins over medium-low heat. Patience is worth it. 3. Once your gribenes are done, strain the skins and fat through a fine mesh strainer, set over a bowl. Reserve the schmaltz (you can keep it in a jar in the fridge for two weeks). Season the gribenes with salt, and let them drain on paper towels. FOR THE CASSEROLE: 1. P  re-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter and schmaltz over medium-high heat in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. Add shallots, 1/2 tsp salt and cook until the shallots are soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook until the mushrooms have released most of their liquid and the pan is starting to dry out. 2. A  dd flour, stir to coat vegetables, and cook until it starts