French Cassoulet
Canned cannellini beans take the work out of soaking dried beans overnight. On nights when you're even more rushed than usual, replace the tomato and tomato sauce with 2 cups canned diced tomatoes.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5–10 minutes
Cooking time: 10–15 minutes
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 white onion, peeled and chopped
12 ounces Gimme Lean Sausage style meat substitute, cut into 1″ pieces
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
2½ cups drained white cannellini beans
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the crushed garlic, onion, and Gimme Lean meat substitute. Sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add the tomato, pressing down so that it releases its juices. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 more minutes, until the onion is softened.
Add the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Add the beans.
Add the bay leaf. Stir in the parsley, basil, salt, and pepper
Turn the heat down and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Substituting Herbs
Dried herbs make a handy substitute when you don't have fresh chopped herbs on hand. When substituting dried herbs for fresh, always follow the ⅓ rule: use ⅓ the amount of dried herbs as fresh herbs that are called for in the recipe. In this recipe, for example, the fresh parsley and basil leaves could be replaced with 1 teaspoon dried parsley and ½ teaspoon dried basil.
