Cassoulet

A quick take on a classic French recipe.

Cassoulet is a classic French recipe that was once condemned to being ‘simple farmhouse fare’, but has evolved into a gorgeous dish noted for its crispy, buttery topping, rich aroma with smoky notes, and a creamy texture that makes for a perfect meal on a cold day.

Traditional cassoulet is a multi-day, complex process, so a cheater version became a must for this goddess. I sourced the original recipe from Chef John, but over the years have tweaked it to suit my own taste — and time spent in the kitchen. The result is a go-to cassoulet that can be prepared and served in about an hour.

You can definitely upscale ingredients in this recipe such as swapping out bacon for pancetta, or if you’re really ambitious duck confit for chicken (I cheat and buy smoked duck breast from a local grocer), but I find this iteration of the recipe works amazingly well, so I suggest trying it as-is before changing it. —CFG

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Ingredients

This recipe makes 6-8 side servings, or about 4 large meal-sized servings.

• 4 oz thick-cut bacon, excess fat trimmed, cut into 1/4” pieces

• 6 oz farmers-style sausage, cut into 1/4” pieces

• 2-3 boneless chicken thighs, skin removed, cut into 1/2” pieces

• 1 large smoked duck breast, skin removed, cut into 1/2” pieces (you can omit if difficult to source and add in one extra chicken thigh)

• 1 medium white/yellow onion, diced

• 3-4 cups of chicken broth

• 2 large cans of white cannelloni beans, drained and well-rinsed

• 2 cups chicken broth, or as needed

• 1/2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary

• 1/2 tbsp minced fresh thyme
  OR

• 1 tbsp Herbs de Provence seasoning

• 5 tbsp melted butter (salted)

• 1 cup of breadcrumbs (*I use my focaccia recipe - toasted then blended in a food processor)

• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

• Pepper to taste

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Directions

1. Cut ~4oz of thick-cut bacon into 1/4” chunks and remove excess fat. Place in a 12” oven-safe, deep frying pan and cook on medium-high for about 5 minutes to release the fats and just start to crisp the bacon.

2. Remove the bacon and set aside, but do not drain the fat from the pan

3. Next, dice 1 medium white/yellow onion and add it to the pan. Cook the onions on medium heat and sauté until the onions are translucent, but not brown.

4. Prepare 2-3 boneless chicken thighs by removing the skin and cutting into 1/2” pieces. Add the chicken to pan with the onions and par-cook the chicken on medium heat just until it starts to brown, but isn’t fully cooked through. (If you’re substituting chicken for duck, use 3-4 pieces of chicken thighs.)

5. Prepare the smoked duck breast by removing the skin and any excess fat, then cut into 1/2” pieces. Dice 6oz of smoked farmers-style sausage into 1/4” pieces, then add both meats to the pan.

6. Stir all ingredients together until fully incorporated.

7. Add 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth to the pan.

8. Prepare the white cannelloni beans by draining and rinsing well. Lightly mash one of the cans of the beans, then add the contents of both to the pan and stir ingredients together.

9. Add in 1/2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary and 1/2 tbsp minced fresh thyme
   —OR— 1 tbsp Herbs de Provence seasoning to the pan and simmer on medium heat.

10. Allow the liquid to cook down and absorb into the dish, adding up to another 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth. (This depends on how wet or dry you like your cassoulet — I would lean towards wet as the beans absorb a lot of broth.) Continue cooking on medium heat while stirring occasionally as you prepare the topping.

For the crusty topping:

1. Preheat the oven to broil.

2. Melt 4-5tbsp of salted butter and set aside.

3. Add 1 cup of breadcrumbs to a small mixing bowl and sprinkle 1/2 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese on top. Drizzle the melted butter on top and then mix the crumb mixture together until fully incorporated.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle about half of the bread mixture on top of cassoulet. Sprinkle half of your 1/3 cup of panko bread crumbs on top.

5. Place the oven-safe pan in the oven ~ 6-8” under the broiler and cook for about 10 minutes.

6. Remove the pan from the oven and use the back of a wooden spoon to pokes holes into the casserole. (This pushes the buttery breadcrumbs into the casserole and adds to the flavour/texture profile.)

7. Next, sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs followed by the remaining panko crumbs on top of the cassoulet and broil for another 10 minutes until the crumbs are a dark golden brown.

8. Turn off the oven and let the pan rest inside for ~10 minutes to allow any excess broth to absorb into the beans.

9. Remove from the oven. Top with fresh cracked pepper, and serve with a vinaigrette-dressed salad, crusty bread, and enjoy!

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