Quick Cassoulet

Traditional cassoulet recipes can take up to three days to prepare, but this version delivers rich, smoky cassoulet flavor in a fraction of the time. 

Recipe by Catherine Neville

Yield 8 servings

  • ½ lb good quality smoked bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

  • 4 or 5 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cut in half

  • 3 links Italian-style pork sausage, casings removed

  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped

  • 3 stalks celery, chopped

  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

  • 5 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 cup dry white wine, like a dry Vignoles or Seyval Blanc

  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme

  • 1 can diced tomatoes (or two chopped ripe tomatoes if they are in season)

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth

  • 4 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

  • 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs or panko

  • 4 Tbsp melted butter

  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

| Preparation | Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Render the bacon over medium heat in a large, deep skillet. Remove crisped bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Generously salt and pepper the chicken thighs and add to the pan, skin-side down. Brown the skin and flip the thighs to brown on the other side. Remove and set aside with the bacon. Brown the sausage in the bacon and chicken fat, breaking up the meat into large pieces as it cooks. Remove the cooked sausage, adding it to the other meat that has been set aside.

Add the chopped onion to the pan, increasing heat to medium-high, and saute for a minute or so, then add celery, carrots and garlic, sauteing until soft. Pour wine into the pan, scraping up any fond, and allow the wine to reduce by about half, then add thyme, tomatoes, broth and bay leaf and simmer until slightly reduced. Stir in the beans and the reserved bacon pieces.

Pour the bean-bacon mixture into a casserole dish and arrange the sausage pieces and chicken thighs, skin-side up, on top. Cover the casserole and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove dish from the oven and take off the lid. Add breadcrumbs or panko on top, drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with parsley. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for another 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

Catherine Neville