Cassoulet

Time. There just isn't enough of it in each day. Days are jam packed with errands to run, calls to make, chores to complete, kids to shuttle around, meals to cook, homework to do; It's the busy work that fills my every waking moment and leaves little time to nurture my soul. Every evening, exhaustion drags me down along with the realization that the things I wanted to do, was filled with things I had to do. I've always had trouble balancing my need to be productive with the things I really want to do. Now that the holidays are upon us, I'm going to hunker down, get back into the kitchen and feed my soul.     
This recipe reminds me that sometimes I have to clear my to do list, slow down, and make time to savor things that are just for me and take time to complete. Who cares if the laundry's not folded...like I do that anyway. 😉 This Cassoulet recipe is so wonderfully comforting with it's complex flavors of savory sausage and pork, creamy beans with a crunchy buttery breadcrumb topping. Clear your schedule and spend a day at home making this work of art!

Cassoulet

Serves 8-10
Slightly adapted recipe by Teri Appleton-Villanueva

Prep Beans
1 lb cannellini beans, rinse and clean
1 T salt

Soak beans overnight and then cook as directed with added salt.  Drain beans, reserving liquid.

Prep Sausages
2 cups water
12 ounces garlic chicken sausage
2 ounces salt pork
2 T vegetable oil
1 med celery rib
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs of thyme

Place water, sausage, salt pork and oil in a dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a quick simmer; cook until water evaporates.Transfer salt pork to cutting board and cool slightly. Meanwhile continue to brown sausages. With kitchen twine, tie together celery, bay leaf, thyme and salt pork together and set aside. When sausages have browned, transfer to cutting board and slice 1 inch thick. Set aside. Do NOT wash dutch oven.

Cook Aromatics
Vegetable oil as needed
12 oz pork shoulder, cut into 1" chunks
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 med carrot, peeled, 1/4 inch dice
2 med cloves garlic, minced
1 T tomato paste

Add oil, if necessary, and pork to the now empty dutch oven and brown pork on all sides. Add onion and carrots, cook, stirring until onion is translucent. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook stirring, 30 seconds. 

Deglaze
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 diced Roma tomatoes
2 to 4 cups chicken stock
fine sea salt and black pepper
Immediately deglaze with wine. Bring to a boil, stir in tomatoes, celery/salt pork bundle, sausages, stock and drained beans. Add some reserved bean liquid enough to cover beans. Simmer soup for about an hour. Skim fat. Remove celery/salt pork bundle and discard. Season with salt and pepper. 

Variation: I like this soup to be thick, so blending about half of the soup makes it thick and chunky. Let the soup cool a bit before blending. Working in batches, pulse the soup in a blender to break up the ingredients into small pieces. Return it to the dutch oven. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and make the breadcrumb topping below.

Gratinee (Brown Top)
1/4 cup packed parsley leaves
3 T unsalted butter, melted
3 large slices high quality white bread
fine sea salt and pepper

Pulse parsley in food processor until minced Transfer to a bowl, wipe out processor. Pulse bread into crumbs. transfer to parsley bowl and drizzle with butter and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.  Top soup with Gratinee and then bake until topping is golden brown about 30 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Other recipes to try:

Tortilla Dressing

Parmesan Creamed Onions

Creamed Corn Casserole