Recipe: Cassoulet

When you think of a classic French dish, you might think it’s going to be tough – not this one.

Cassoulet
Serves an army (like 8+ people, fo sho) 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb dried Great Northern Beans (you can use cannellini, which might be more “authentic,” but great northerns are easier to find in suburban Chicago)
• 4 bone-in Chicken Thighs
• 1 lb Italian sausage*
• 8 oz Pancetta, diced
• 2 Onions, finely chopped
• 2 Carrots, chopped
• 2 tsp Thyme
• 1 large Bay Leaf (or 2 small ones)
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced (if you use pre-minced garlic in a jar, this is 1 Tbs)
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 1/4 cup Dry Vermouth
• 3 oz Tomato Paste (this is 1/2 of a 6 oz. can – you know, the small can at the store)
• 3 cups Hot Water (you can use boiling water from the kettle or hot water from the tap)
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• TOPPING
• 1 cup Bread Crumbs*
• 1 Tbs chopped Parsley
• 1 clove Garlic, minced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rehydrate the beans. Two methods: slow and fast. Note: slow is preferred, but if you’ve already promised family and friends a cassoulet feast for tonight, you need fast…
   1. SLOW: place the beans in a large container/bowl, add water – cover beans by at least 3 inches, allow to sit undisturbed for 8-10 hours. Drain and set-aside.
   2. FAST: place the beans in a large saucepan, cover with 1″ of water, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 1-3 hours. Drain and set-aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425°, rinse and pat-dry chicken thighs, rub with ~1 Tbs Oil, sprinkle with ~1 Tbs Kosher Salt, place in a shallow baking dish (I use a pie plate), and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. When finished, reduce oven temperature to 275°. Set Chicken aside, allow to cool slightly, and remove/discard the chicken skins*, and save 2 Tbs of the chicken fat.
3. Heat 1 Tbs Olive Oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add Sausages and cook until brown – about 8 minutes. Remove sausages to a plate. Add Pancetta and cook for 5 minutes – until slightly crisp and rendered. Remove Pancetta to plate with Sausages. Reduce heat to medium and add Onions, Carrots, Thyme, and Bay Leaf. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add Vermouth and deglaze the pan – scraping-up the baked-on bits – don’t lose that flavor! Add Garlic and cook for another minute. Stir-in Diced Tomatoes and the plate of sausage and pancetta and juices. Remove from heat and set-aside.
4. In a separate bowl, add Hot Water, Tomato Paste, and Chicken Broth. Whisk to combine and set-aside.
5. In a large oven-safe casserole dish (I mean, this sucker has to be LARGE: 4 qt. or more), begin layering the cassoulet:
   1. On the bottom: 1/2 of the beans
   2. In the middle, first place the Chicken Thighs. Then the sausage/pancetta/vegetable mixture over and around the chicken.
   3. On the top, the rest of the beans.
   4. Pour the water/tomtato paste/chicken broth mixture over the top.
6. Cover and put in the oven to bake. After 2 hours, check seasoning – add salt/pepper as needed, add additional hot water if needed. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour more.
7. While cassoulet is finishing, make the topping:
   1. Heat the reserved chicken fat in a skillet over medium heat.
   2. Add the bread crumbs and 1 clove minced Garlic and cook for 5 minutes – stirring often until golden and toasty.
   3. If very greasy, drain on paper towels.
   4. Combine with 1 Tbs chopped Parsley.
8. Remove cassoulet from oven. Sprinkle topping over cassoulet and let sit for 5-10 mins. Enough time to set the table and corral family and friends – maybe pour yourself another wine.
9. Serve.

RECIPE NOTES

• There are many kinds of “Italian” sausage – what’s right for this recipe? >> Good question. You don’t want something too Italian – with bold fennel and spices. I used Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage links and cut them in-half for the recipe (into 10 mini-sausages). If you have a reliable French sausage monger, ask for authentic sausages from the southwest of France. Good luck.
• Can I use bread crumbs from the can? >> Yes, you can. There are also a few other options: local bakery – most sell “fresh” breadcrumbs from that day in the shop. OR, you can make your own: put some bread in the food processor, spin to win, done.
• Why go slow on bean hydration when there’s a fast method? >> The slow method is the best way to preserve the texture of the bean. The fast hydration affects the texture. I think either method will be ok for this recipe – but if you have time, hydrate the beans overnight. Then drain in the morning and set-aside until cooking time.
• There are a lot of “set-aside” instructions in this recipe. What gives? >> I noticed that too. Well, for a casserole, not everything needs to finish/arrive at the same time. You need to cook everything before it goes into the oven, but there is a lot of flexibility with time – which is a good thing. Best way to make this dish: lazy Sunday with a bottle/3 of wine – no hurries.
• Chicken thighs? When I check-out cassoulet on the internet, it’s all duck all the time. >> Duck would be nice, but my family would not try “duck.” I had to make this accessible. Also, chicken thighs are easy to find – you might have to plan-ahead for duck. If you want duck, add duck – I don’t give a shit.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

• The cassoulet will have some juice, but not be soup – you’ll want to use that to your advantage. Here are some ideas:
  • Trancher. On the bottom of the plate, place a slice of thick-crusty bread, ladle-on some cassoulet. Eat the stew, the bread will soak-up goodness, and then you eat the bread. Also a great way to use good bread that has gone stale. Reminder: this is a peasant dish.
  • Polenta. Cook-up some stiff polenta. Spoon-some onto/into your plate/bowl. Top with cassoulet. Eat. It. Up.
  • Over couscous. Like the polenta – couscous on the bottom, cassoulet on the top.
  • All alone.