White Bean Cassoulet

This is not a traditional cassoulet with duck confit and the like. It’s truly a glorified version of franks and beans and it is terrific on a chilly, rainy night. This is a rich, hearty, comforting dish—I love cracking through the garlic bread crust into the thick, creamy casserole. Bonus: You could easily make this vegetarian by using veggie sausages.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

4 sprigs fresh rosemary
8 sprigs fresh parsley
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (12 ounce) package chicken and apple sausage, sliced
1 (9 ounce) package smoked sausage, sliced
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 rib of celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
1 large carrot, chopped (about ½ cup)
½ cup dry white wine
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans (great northern, white kidney, cannellini, whatever) drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can whole tomatoes with juice
3 cups water
2 or 3 teaspoons of salt (to taste)
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 Tablespoon butter, melted

Directions: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Tie the rosemary, parsley and thyme together in a bundle with kitchen twine and set aside. If you don’t have fresh herbs, just use dried herbs to suit your taste. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Add in the chicken sausage and cook until brown. Remove to a plate and add the smoked sausage into the pot. Brown the smoked sausage and remove to the plate with the chicken sausage. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot to the pot and cook for about 4 minutes until the veggies are just soft, but not brown. Add the wine to the pot and stir to bring the goodness up from the bottom of the pan. Add the sausages back in and then the beans, tomatoes, water, salt, pepper, and the herb bundle. Stir and break up the tomatoes. Bring the cassoulet up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Lightly cover the pot with a piece of foil and bake for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding a bit of water if it gets too thick. Meanwhile, toss the bread crumbs, garlic salt and butter together in a small bowl. After the cassoulet has cooked for the 2 hours, remove the cover and sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top. Bake for another 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove the herb bundle before serving.