Green bean casserole in a creamy white sauce

Cut the green beans in half into bite-sized pieces.

Bring a big pot of water to the boil over high heat with two teaspoons of salt and cook the beans until fork tender, about seven minutes.

Transfer them into a big bowl of ice cold water to shock them, then take them out and pat them dry so the sauce is not watery.

Put the dried beans in a nine by 13 inch baking pan and season them with a little more salt and some black pepper.

Cook the chopped onion in about two tablespoons of olive oil with a pinch of salt over medium heat until soft and golden, about eight minutes.

Add four tablespoons of butter and the four grated garlic cloves, just warming the garlic through.

Add four tablespoons of all-purpose flour and cook it a few minutes until nicely toasted.

Add three cups of cold whole milk and mix at once, scraping the bits off the bottom so the flour blends in smoothly.

Season with salt, black pepper, about a teaspoon of thyme and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg, and cook over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken.

Pour the sauce over the beans, add Parmesan cheese, taste and adjust the seasoning, and toss the beans in the sauce.

Thin the sauce with around a cup of chicken broth, since it thickens further in the oven, and add a few crushed red pepper flakes.

Flatten everything into one layer and bake uncovered at 350F for about 30 minutes until bubbly.

Sprinkle French fried onions over the top as soon as it comes out. For a crumb topping instead, toss about one and a half cups of unseasoned panko in melted butter with herbs and bake it on top, without the fried onions, which would burn.