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Italian Green Bean Casserole
Italian green bean casserole is known in Italy as Polpettone alla Ligure. It's made with a few simple ingredients: green beans, eggs, potatoes, parmigiano cheese, fresh marjoram, and breadcrumbs on top to give it crunchiness.The use of potatoes and green beans in the same recipe is very common in Ligurian cuisine, as in Lasagna alla Genovese for example.
Ingredients
- 450 g green beans 1 pound
- 1 kg potatoes 2.2 pounds
- 3 eggs
- 1 onion
- 100 g Parmigiano cheese 1 cup, grated
- 2 marjoram sprigs, fresh
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 40 g breadcrumbs ⅓ cup
- fine to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- To make Italian green bean casserole (Polpettone alla Ligure), boil the potatoes with their skin in salted boiling water. This take 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.
- Once cooked, drain and peel them. Then mash them with a potato masher and put them in a large bowl.
- Wash the green beans and remove the tail ends. Then boil them in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Cut the green beans into pieces of about 2 cm (⅔ inch). Cut the onion into small pieces as well.
- Then saute the green beans and onion in a pan with a tablespoon of oil and a little salt for about five minutes.
- Add the green beans to the mashed potatoes.
- Stir and add the eggs, grated parmigiano cheese, a pinch more salt, ground black pepper, and finally the marjoram leaves broken up with your hands.
- Grease with a bit of oil an oven dish and dust it with 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs. Lay the mixture on top, leveling it well over the entire surface. The thickness should not exceed 3 cm (about 1 inch).
- In Italy it's tradition to decorate the surface of Polpettone alla Ligure with the tines of a fork, forming the typical horizontal and vertical lines.
- Sprinkle the surface of the Italian green bean casserole with breadcrumbs. Also add a drizzle of oil.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the meatloaf is golden brown on the surface.
- Once ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 100gCalories: 259kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 11gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 272mgPotassium: 713mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 598IUVitamin C: 33mgCalcium: 210mgIron: 2mg
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