Thanksgiving aka Happy Nut Roast day.

Last weekend the American Vegetarian and I celebrated our 4th annual Thanksgiving feast with friends. Every year on the last Saturday in November we invite friends over and cook a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner.

When the American Vegetarian first moved over, Thanksgiving was one tradition that I definitely wanted to incorporate in our lives, and we're so glad we did.  I absolutely love it. We try and invite different people over each year so all of our friends can experience our Thanksgiving. If we had a table big enough we'd invite everyone we know.

Now never having gone too, or eaten a Thanksgiving dinner myself it was up to the American Vegetarian to tell me what the dinner consisted of. Obviously turkey was out of the question so we substitute that with nut roast. The rest of the menu goes as follows; Sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn on the cob, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. We start the evening with cheese and biscuits and end with the classic pumpkin pie. In between all the food, copious amounts of wine and champagne are drunk.

The one dish which I had no idea how to cook, or even heard of before was green bean casserole. The American Vegetarian described it as green beans with mushroom sauce and fried onions. It didn't sound particularly appetising and when I looked on line to get some recipe ideas, the ones I found seemed even more unappetising (have a google yourself and you'll see what I mean). Recipes that entailed mixing canned cooked green beans with fried onions and milk before baking in the oven for 30 minutes!!! Why bake cooked green beans? I imagine they would be soft and pretty tasteless after that.

So I thought I would create my own version of the classic American dish of green bean casserole. I think my version is good, and all who have tasted it have always asked for seconds.

Ingredients (Serves 8)

600 grams of fresh green beans.
300 grams chestnut mushrooms.
1 can of condensed mushroom soup.
400 grams of crispy fried onions.
a good handful of fresh parsley; chopped.
a knob of butter.
salt & pepper.

Wash, trim and cut the green beans in thirds, set aside. Next wipe the mushrooms clean with a cloth. Because mushrooms soak up water it is best not to wash them. Just wipe the mushrooms and then slice them. In a pan melt the butter and then add the mushrooms, and saute for about 5-10 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their juices and cooked. Instead of letting the water cook off, I just pour it away. Next add about 3/4 of the can of condensed mushroom soup, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the parsley and the uncooked green beans. Season and mix well. Add the mixture to an oven dish. I use one which is just under 2 inches deep. Cover with foil. Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes at 180 Celsius. Thirty minutes into the cooking time take the dish out and add the fried onions to the dish, recover with the foil and place back in the oven for the final 10 minutes. You don't want to add the onions at the beginning as they will burn. So adding them to the final 10 minutes of cooking is just fine.

I always prepare the dish early in the day and then when the guests arrive cover with foil and bake.

Serve with a thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving is always a feast in our home. A feast of food, friends and fun times.