Just like there is a difference between say Arbor Day and Christmas, there are national food days and there are NATIONAL FOOD DAYS. Today, is of the latter magnitude. Cassoulet is something I never even knew of 4 years ago, but it has made a profound impact on my culinary life. I discovered it in the first month of my food blog as I completed my first Culinary Ridealong with the Tour de France. Every year they went through “cassoulet country” in Southwestern France, I was sure to make one. I even went a little rogue once and made a “summer cassoulet”. I then circled back the next year with a more traditional preparation, employing duck confit. I did not make one this last year because the race route just missed traveling through the Languedoc region of France. Sacré Bleu!
It brought me great joy this weekend when I learned that today is none other than National Cassoulet Day! But then I got to panicking, what can I do that hasn’t already been done? However, in research for today’s version, I found that the first rule about Cassoulet Club is that there are no rules - and the dish is open to wide interpretation. This was completely freeing and I set out to make a quick weeknight version, which you’ll find below. You can make this in as fast as one hour! However…me being me, I didn’t use canned beans, I made my own. This is a dish with rich origins down in Gascony after all.
Weeknight Cassoulet
If preparing your own beans, do so over the weekend (like I did) so this can still be a weeknight meal. Allow them to cool and place in airtight containers in the fridge.
8 chicken thighs
7 oz container of D'Artagnan Rendered Duck Fat
Large onion
8 oz andouille sausage
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of dried Herbs de Provence
Ground allspice
2 tbsp tomato paste
¼ cup dry white wine
2 cans of cannellini beans (or Mangia’s Cannellini Beans)
Chicken stock
½ day old baguette
Season the chicken with Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Melt 2 tbsp of duck fat in a large dutch oven, set over medium-high heat, then place the chicken in skin-side down. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until well browned, then flip the chicken and brown on the underside. Continue to cook the chicken, rotating the pot or moving the chicken around for even cooking.
The browning process should take about 20 minutes in total. Remove the chicken, leaving the drippings in the pot, and place the chicken into a large casserole dish and reserve.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
While the chicken cooks, chop the onion, split the sausage lengthwise and slice into ½” thick pieces, mince the garlic, and prepare the remaining ingredients.
Once the chicken has been removed from the pot, lower the heat to medium and add another 2 tablespoons of duck fat, along with the onion and sausage. Season with some salt and black pepper. Cook until the onions have browned, about 5 minutes or so.
Add in the garlic, 2 tsp of the dried herbs, and a dash of allspice. Stir and cook until fragrant, a couple of minutes.
Add in the tomato paste and allow it to warm briefly, then stir it in to incorporate.
Add in the wine, along with a little salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the beans (including liquid in the cans). If there is not enough liquid in the pot, add in some stock so the mixture is slightly soupy and return to a simmer, cooking until the sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, halve the baguette and chop into rough 1” pieces. Place the pieces into a food processor and pulse until the bread crumbs are about ¼” thick.
Place the casserole dish on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Once the bean and sausage mixture is ready, pour it all over the chicken in the casserole dish, spreading it out evenly.
Add the remaining duck fat to the emptied pot and toss in the breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 tsp of herbs de provence. Stir the breadcrumbs, nearly constantly, allowing them to soak up the rendered fat and herbs, about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over top of the casserole and place it in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the dish contents are warm and bubbling around the edge and the crumbs have toasted.
______________________________ Copyright 2024, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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