Never one to turn down a moment of vegetable-induced introspection, when last year’s exchange happened, I asked myself what it is, exactly, that I love so much about the casserole? It’s obviously not the beans, and the mushroom soupiness is just fine. It was then that I realized the best thing about green bean casserole is actually the fried onions throughout. Why, I wondered, don’t I just put them on everything? And now I do.
When I say “fried onions,” I don’t mean, like, onions that I sliced and battered and fried myself until they become crisp little wisps of sweet onion flavor. I mean the pop-top can with the shelf-stable morsels of chemical onion-ish crunch that have as much in common with an actual onion as Funyuns — another magnificent creation. On top of a green bean casserole, they add just enough salt and texture but most importantly flavor to contrast all the creamy beaniness. Mixed into pretty much anything else, they are just magnificent.
