I love a good cassoulet - sit me down with that on the menu, and I almost don't care what else the place serves, I'm going to order it. And what's not to love - a gigantic plate of meat, garlic, some herbs, and white beans, cooked until they're just starting to crisp in a hefty cast iron skillet. I would love to make this at home, but the problem is that I don't want to sit around making the four or five different cuts of meat that chefs usually nestle into the beans, which is often some infuriating combination of rabbit, duck, Merguez sausage, and other difficult to procure animals or animal bits.
So while nosing through a family cookbook called Fast Food My Way, by Jacques Pepin based on his PBS TV series, I stopped cold when I saw a recipe called "30 Minute Cassoulet". I almost didn't care what meats were in it, though I was pleasantly surprised. A recipe that promised all of the flavors of a French bistro dish in less time than it takes to get service from a snotty French waiter? Check, please.
 |
| The last time I saw this much meat in one place... [insert joke here] |
30 Minute Cassoulet
from Fast Food My Way, by Jacques Pepin
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound daisy ham, tough outer skin removed (stand by for description)
- 3/4 pound mild Italian sausages, cut into 3" pieces
- 4 bratwurst sausages, cut into thirds
- 1 cup diced whole button mushrooms (3 oz)
- 3/4 cup diced (1/2") onion
- 2 tbsp crushed garlic (4 cloves)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 15.5 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup diced (1") tomato (1 large tomato's worth)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp chopped parsley
Okay, the ingredients. First and foremost, what the heck is daisy ham? I asked the same thing. For a first recipe from this book, I wasn't pleased that he called for some obscure meat product that no red-blooded American has ever heard of. But not to worry, I looked it up and it turns out that this is just a smoked, boneless ham, typically Boston Butt, and individually sealed up. I found it with no difficulty in the meat section, over by the cooked ham. Go America. Next, the other meats. I went with mild rather than hot Italian sausage, which I think was the right choice. And I stayed with the bratwurst called for in the original recipe.
 |
| A daisy ham. This one even had 'daisy' in the brand name. I cut off the outer skin and then it was just delicious smoked ham. |
 |
| All kinds of sausage going on here. Recipe calls for cutting up the Italian and keeping the bratwurst whole |
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the ham and Italian sausage. Do NOT add the bratwurst, that gets steamed / poached in the next step. Cover and cook over high heat for 7-8 minutes, turning occasionally. This gets good browning but helps cook everything through, and slows the drippings from burning to the pan.
 |
| Brown the ham and Italian sausage with a lid on - not what I would have expected, but it worked |
Add the bratwurst, mushrooms, onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Mix well and cook for 5-6 minutes.
 |
| The next round of additions is the mushrooms, aromatics, and the bratwurst |
 |
| Getting a bit crowded in the pan, I wondered if maybe I should switch pans. But I like a challenge. |
Add the beans, tomato, water, and pepper, bring back to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and boil gently for 5-10 minutes.
 |
| Add the chopped tomato and rinsed white beans |
 |
| This is when I knew the pan was too small. Oh well. |
|
| Give everything a stir to incorporate, cover, and cook on low for just a few minutes! |
10 minutes of this, and you're good to go. And if you end up doing other things and letting this cook longer, it's only going to make it better. At serving time, discard the bay leaf, cut the ham into slices and slice sausage pieces in half, and arrange meat on platter with beans. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve with Tabasco and Dijon mustard.
 |
| Cassoulet, served in 30 minutes or more. |
