Cassoulet
The authentic version of this dish is made with duck confit. This recipe uses ingredients you might have on hand.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 8
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound Italian sausage, cut in a few pieces
1 pound boneless chicken breast, cubed
½ pound lean beef, lamb, or pork, finely diced
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken or beef broth
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, crushed
1 cup white wine
1 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
10 cups cooked cannellini beans
½ cup fine bread crumbs
¼ cup minced parsley
1 tablespoon melted butter
In a medium Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage; cook, stirring, until sausage is no longer pink. Remove to a platter.
Sprinkle chicken and meat cubes with half of herbes de Provence. Working in batches, brown chicken and meat in sausage drippings, adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil if necessary. Remove to a platter.
Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to fat; sauté 3 minutes.
Remove vegetables to a platter. Add broth, tomatoes, wine, salt, bay leaves, and remaining herbes de Provence. Stir well; scrape up any bits from bottom of pot. Raise heat to high; bring mixture to a boil. Boil until liquid is reduced by one third.
Remove casing from sausage; chop. Mix sausage, chicken, meat, and vegetables together. Ladle ½ of liquid from Dutch oven into another container; reserve. Layer one third of beans in bottom of pot; top with ½ of meats and vegetables. Layer another ⅓ of beans, followed by remainder of meats and vegetables. Top with remaining beans. Pour rest of liquid over beans. (Liquid should not be higher than level of beans.)
Mix bread crumbs with parsley; sprinkle over beans. Drizzle butter over crumbs. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before serving.
