Cassoulet is a rich and hearty dish that originated in the south of France. There are many variations of it but the basics are pork, sausage, white beans and vegetables all baked together. In this recipe we used chicken thighs and turkey sausage but tried to stay true to the wonderful mixture with a tasty mix of savory seasonings.
Start out by frying up the bacon…remove to drain and then fry the turkey sausage.
Add a little more oil and brown the chicken thighs.
Remove the chicken thighs and sauté all the veggies…add the wine or chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Add in chicken,beans, tomatoes, paste and all the yummy seasonings. Stir it up and put the lid on.
**OR pour into a baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes and throw in the sausage. Cover it up again and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the chicken breaks apart easily.
Break the chicken apart into large pieces and add bacon bits.
For the croutons just mix the bread, oil and parsley and broil.
Top cassoulet with croutons.
ENJOY!!!
Cassoulet
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon
- 13 ounces smoked turkey sausage
- 4-5 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless about 1½ pounds
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1-3 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- green pepper, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth **OR ½ cup white wine + ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 14.5 ounce canned diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, minced **or ¼ tsp dried rosemary, crushed
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced **or ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 2 15 ounce canalleni beans, drained and rinsed **or any white beans
Croutons
- 2 cups bread cubes
- 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Slice bacon into pieces and cook in dutch oven over medium heat until crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. NOTE: If you don't have a Dutch oven use a large skillet.
- Cut turkey sausage into slices and sauté in bacon drippings until browned. Remove to paper towels to drain.
- Trim chicken thighs of any extra fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 2 tsps of olive oil to any leftover bacon drippings and heat to medium. Brown thighs on both sides and remove to plate. Add onion, pepper, celery, carrots and garlic to pan. Cook and stir until veggies are softened. Add more oil if necessary.
- Stir in chicken broth/wine and bring to a boil.
- Add chicken thighs, white beans, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, rosemary and thyme.
- Place lid on Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes. NOTE: If note using a Dutch oven, pour mixture into a baking dish and cover with foil to bake.
- Remove from oven. Add turkey sausge. Mix.Recover and return to oven for 20-30 minutes until chicken breaks apart easily.
- Remove from oven and stir in bacon bits. Break apart chicken into pieces.Top each serving with croutons.
Croutons
- Preheat oven broiler.
- Mix bread cubes, olive oil and parsley.
- Spread on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Spread croutons on baking sheet and place 4-5 inches under broiler until the bread browns.