France: Simple Cassoulet

So I'll admit, this whole random selection thing isn't working out quite like I planned. But that's OK. I'd rather cheat than let ingredients go to waste or bust my budget.

I was also thinking I'd save a cool country like France for something big. But I had lots of onions, carrots and celery in the fridge that I needed to get rid of. And it's been kind of chilly here, so I wanted to make a warming, quick, one pot dish that I could feed off of for awhile.

I decided to go ahead with a simple version of the French cassoulet, a meat and bean stew that is named for the cassoul pot it is traditionally cooked in (remember this bit of trivia if you ever play Foodie Fight). I don't have a cassoul pan, so I just do it in a regular pot. Some versions are loaded with all sorts of meat, like duck and bacon, but this one keeps it pretty straight forward. And I'm having a lazy weekend.

Of all places, I first learned of this dish on last year's Next Food Network Star. One of the contestants whipped it up as her signature dish. I thought it looked great, so I tried it. This time around I made some changes, using dried instead of fresh herbs (because I had them in my cabinet and didn't have to buy them) and regular pork sausage instead of chicken (because I like it). I also mixed up the technique a bit, letting the veggies cook in the oil from the sausage for added flavor. It came out pretty salty, so on a next go around I'll probably try to make some substitutions to scale back that flavor. I may have also screwed up the ratios substituting dried for fresh herbs. I like to eat it with some crusty bread and sprinkle some parmesean cheese on top.

What you need:

3 tbsps. olive oil

5 links of hot Italian sausage

3 yellow onions, chopped

5 carrots, chopped

5 celery stalks, chopped

10 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsps. dried thyme

2 tbsps. dried oregano

1 tbsp. dried rosemary

2 bay leaves

fresh ground pepper

2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

6 cups chicken stock

What to do:

Heat the olive oil in pan. Remove casings from Italian sausage, add to pot and cook until done. Remove with slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the chopped veggies (including garlic) to the pot with the oil from the sausage. Cook until soft. Add spices and season with pepper. Let cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the beans, chicken stock and Italian sausage back to the pot. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for at least an hour, until the stew becomes thick.