Simplified Cassoulet Food

QUICK CASSOULET

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic; cook and stir for a few minutes, until the onion is transparent. Add the sausage to the skillet, and cook for a few more minutes to brown.
• Pour in the kidney beans, cannellini beans and tomatoes, and season with the bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.
• Remove bay leaves and discard. Sprinkle parsley over the top, and serve.

CHEF JOHN'S QUICK CASSOULET

Steps:

• Add bacon to a large, cold oven-ready skillet. Place over medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes, until almost crisp. Transfer to a bowl, reserving the grease in the pan.
• Stir in sausage slices; cook 3-4 minutes. Add chicken thigh pieces; cook and stir for 5 minutes, until browned. Remove meat to the plate with bacon. Discard all the oil, but don't wipe out the pan.
• Add chopped onion and turn the heat to medium-low; cook and stir for 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add 1 cup of chicken stock.
• Mash about 1/4 of the beans in a small bowl, stir all the beans into the pan.
• Stir in cayenne, rosemary and thyme. Add reserved meat back to the pan. Stir in remaining cup of stock or more if needed to cover. Return to simmer.
• Mix bread crumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano and melted butter together in a small bowl.
• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 7 inches from the heat source.
• Sprinkle the cassoulet with half the bread crumb mixture. Place under the broiler and cook about 5 minutes, until browned.
• Remove the pan and push bread crumbs down into the cassoulet. Top with remaining bread crumb mixture. Return to oven and continue broiling 5 more minutes, until browned.
• Turn off the broiler and leave in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes. Enjoy.

CASSOULET

Steps:

• Drain the beans and put into a large heavy casserole, preferably enameled cast iron, with bacon, pork rind, garlic, 1 onion, the carrot, and the bouquet garni. Cover with the 10 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring often, until beans are barely tender, about 1 hour. Drain and return to casserole, discarding onion and bouquet garni.
• Add the remaining onion, the duck legs, demi-glace mixture, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
• Drain the bean mixture in a colander over a bowl and reserve 5 cups of the cooking liquid. Discard bacon and pork rind. Remove the duck legs and cut each in half at the joint. Season beans with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of pepper.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place half the bean mixture in casserole. Add duck legs, duck sausage, and garlic sausage, and cover with remaining beans. Add reserved cooking liquid and drizzle the duck fat over the top. Cover and bake until hot and bubbling, about 2 hours. (Cassoulet may be prepared ahead to this point, then cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before proceeding).
• Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Uncover cassoulet and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

EASY CASSOULET

Steps:

• Prep the chicken and sausages: Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season both sides with salt and black pepper. Prick each sausage with the tip of a paring knife in a couple of places. This will prevent them from bursting as they cook.
• Cook the onions and garlic: Pour off and discard all but a thin layer of fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onions soften.
• Turn on the broiler: Set a rack about 8 inches from the broiler element and turn on the broiler.

WEEKDAY CASSOULET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse and dry the chicken well and season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• In a large Dutch oven, over medium-low heat, add the bacon and slowly render the fat. Remove the bacon to a plate when crispy, leaving the fat in the pan. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken on both sides and then remove to a plate. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduce by half. Stir in the beans, bay leaf and thyme. Nestle the chicken thighs and bacon into the pot. Add the chicken stock, cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the lid and top the cassoulet with sliced tomatoes and the Garlic Bread Crumbs. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, 15 minutes longer. Serve the cassoulet with baguette slices.
• In a small saute pan over low heat, add the oil and the garlic. Stir until the oil is fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss in the bread crumbs and cook until the bread crumbs start to turn golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from heat.

SIMPLIFIED CASSOULET WITH PORK AND KIELBASA

Steps:

• Brining the Chicken: In gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag, dissolve salt and sugar in 1 quart cold water. Add chicken, pressing out as much air as possible; seal and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preparing the Topping: While chicken is brining, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix bread crumbs and butter in small baking dish. Bake, tossing occasionally, until light golden brown and crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature; set aside.
• Bring the beans, whole onion, garlic head, salt, pepper and 8 cups water to a boil in a stockpot or Dutch oven over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the beans are almost fully tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain the beans and discard the onion and garlic.
• While the beans are cooking, fry the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until just beginning to crisp and most of the fat has rendered, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, add half of the bacon to the pot with the beans; transfer the remaining bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• Increase the heat to medium-high; when the bacon fat is shimmering, add half of the chicken thighs, fleshy-side down; cook until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate; repeat with remaining thighs and set aside.
• Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Return pot to medium heat; add pork pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add minced garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, and pepper to taste; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in chicken broth and wine, scraping up browned bits off bottom of pot with wooden spoon. Submerge the chicken in the pot, adding any accumulated juices. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer about 40 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to simmer until the chicken and pork are fully tender, 20 to 30 minutes more.
• Gently stir the kielbasa, drained beans and reserved bacon into the pot with the chicken and pork; remove and discard the thyme and bay leaf and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the croutons evenly over the surface and bake at 425, uncovered, until the flavors have melded and the croutons are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

CASSOULET TOAST

Steps:

• Heat a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, the onions, and 3 of the garlic cloves. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the onions and garlic start to color. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, or until caramelized.
• Add the beans, tomatoes, thyme, the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 cup of the water. Turn the heat up to medium- high and bring to a simmer. Smash about one-eighth of the beans against the side of the pan with a fork to thicken the mixture. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a bowl, discard the thyme, and smash the garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Rinse out the pan and return it to the stovetop. Add the confit duck leg skin-side down to the cold pan. Turn the heat to medium-low, add the remaining 1 tablespoon water, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes (when the skin softens, scrape it off the duck leg and continue cooking alongside it; this will become the crackling). Remove the lid, turn the duck leg, and continue cooking until the leg is warmed through and starting to crisp up, turning as needed.
• Continue cooking the duck skin (as if it were a slice of bacon) until nice and crisp, keeping in mind that it will crisp more as it cools (as if it were a slice of bacon), about 3 minutes longer. Drain on a paper towel.
• Toast the bread on both sides under the broiler until it is crisp on the outside and still soft inside. Rub each slice generously with the remaining garlic clove and top each slice with about ½ cup of the beans. Shred the duck meat and divide it evenly among the toasts. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with more oil, if desired, and crumble the crackling over the top. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

SIMPLIFIED CASSOULET WITH LAMB AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Brining the Chicken: In gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag, dissolve salt and sugar in 1 quart cold water. Add chicken, pressing out as much air as possible; seal and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preparing the Topping: While chicken is brining, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix bread crumbs and butter in small baking dish. Bake, tossing occasionally, until light golden brown and crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature; set aside.
• Bring the beans, whole onion, garlic head, salt, pepper and 8 cups water to a boil in a stockpot or Dutch oven over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the beans are almost fully tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain the beans and discard the onion and garlic.
• While the beans are cooking, fry the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until just beginning to crisp and most of the fat has rendered, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, add half of the bacon to the pot with the beans; transfer the remaining bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• Increase the heat to medium-high; when the bacon fat is shimmering, add half of the chicken thighs, fleshy-side down; cook until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate; repeat with remaining thighs and set aside.
• Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Return pot to medium heat; add lamb pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add minced garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, and pepper to taste; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in chicken broth and wine, scraping up browned bits off bottom of pot with wooden spoon. Submerge the chicken in the pot, adding any accumulated juices. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer about 40 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to simmer until the chicken and lamb are fully tender, 20 to 30 minutes more.
• Gently stir the andouille sausage, drained beans and reserved bacon into the pot with the chicken and pork; remove and discard the thyme and bay leaf and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the croutons evenly over the surface and bake at 425, uncovered, until the flavors have melded and the croutons are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.