Flageolet Cassoulet

It's boom time in Bean Town is kinda how the New York Times puts it. Read that article if you haven't yet. This week, so many of us have reached into a forgotten corner of our cupboards to pull out various, forgotten bags of dried legumes. There are a million things to do with them now that you've been reunited. Here's one. Have something bean-y you want to share with the group? Let us know in a comment below!

Flageolet Cassoulet:

This is a simplified version of a rustic french stew that traditionally takes a couple days to prepare. In this case, we used chicken instead of confit duck and cooked bratwurst instead of garlic sausage. It’s a really easy recipe you can tweak to your own preferences that will always come out comforting and delicious. This recipe is specific for our cast iron sauté pan, which is about 1/3 of the size of a normal dutch oven. To recreate this recipe in a larger vessel, just double the recipe—it’s a pretty fool proof recipe that can work in may differing ratios.

What you’ll need:

1/2 lb Flageolet beans, soaked overnight (any other Rancho Gordo beans would probably be delicious in this recipe)
1.5 tbsp butter
2-3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 links cooked garlic bratwurst
½ lb bacon, sliced in 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 handful chopped parsley
1 tsp herbs de Provence (we love this one) 
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
4 cups chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 soft baguette, pulsed in food processor 

Let's get started:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Start by adding butter to the pan and searing the chicken thighs in yourcast iron sauté pan skin side down, about 8 minutes, flip and cook about 3 more.

• Remove chicken and set aside. Next sear sausage links, about 3 minutes each side. Remove sausage and set aside with chicken.

• Add bacon to the pan and sauté until the fat is translucent and meat is pliable, not crispy. Remove from pan and drain. Discard all but about two tablespoons of remaining fat (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan).

• Sauté onions until translucent, add soaked beans, carrot, celery, parsley, herbs de Provence, bay leaf, clove and 3 cups chicken stock, stir and let simmer for a moment, then add bacon, stir.

• Nestle chicken thighs and sausage links in the mixture.

• In a bowl, mix garlic and breadcrumbs, then sprinkle on top of the mixture in the pan.

• Place in the oven for about 1 hr. Check on the cassoulet periodically and add more stock as needed (keep beans moist).

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Toni Dash, words and preparation by Cherry Iocovozzi.