Green bean casserole with homemade cream of mushroom sauce and bacon

Start chopped bacon in a cold shallow Dutch oven with a tiny bit of olive oil and cook until crispy; remove the bacon, leaving the fat (about two tablespoons).

Blanch the trimmed green beans in boiling water about 3 minutes; drain and shock under cold water.

Add the diced onion and sliced mushrooms to the bacon fat with a pinch of salt and black pepper; cook about 10 minutes until cooked down and coloured.

Add the minced garlic and cook out the raw flavour.

Add flour to thicken.

Add chicken stock and stir, lifting the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add dried thyme and a splash of cream; simmer a few minutes.

Add Parmesan and the blanched green beans; stir and simmer together a few minutes until the beans are tender and take on the sauce.

Top with store-bought french fried onions and the bacon. The sauce thickens as it cools; no oven needed.