Baked beans with pork & chicken - Cassoulet
Contents
Introduction
This is my (Ray Mcvinnie's) simplified version of cassoulet, the ultimate baked bean dish from the Languedoc region of France. It is rich and filling and needs only a salad to follow. Again, “cassoulet” is both the name of the vessel in which this dish is cooked and the name of the dish itself. Because this dish is so rich, like many dishes containing pork, it is eaten as a big lunch to be followed by some gentle exercise. I sometimes use canned cannelloni beans for this dish, so omitting the need to cook the beans. It works well but cooking the beans yourself does give a better flavour. If I use canned beans I need 4 x 400g cans, drained and rinsed.
Ingredients
- 300g white haricot beans
- 3 onions
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 1 carrot
- 1 stick celery
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 organic boneless chicken thighs
- 250g boneless pork shoulder, diced 3cm
- 450g coarse pure pork sausages
- 4 cloves garlic
- 150g pickled pork or fatty bacon, diced 2cm
- 150ml dry white wine
- 500ml beef stock
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
Directions
Put the beans, 1 onion, the bay leaf, carrot and celery into a large saucepan. Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender.
This could take 1 hour, depending on the age of the beans. Top up with boiling water if too much water evaporates as they cook.
Drain, discard the vegetables and reserve the beans.
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and brown the chicken, pork and sausages in batches then reserve.
Chop the remaining onions and add them with the garlic and pickled pork or bacon to the pan. Fry gently, without browning until the onion is soft. Add the wine and let it bubble until almost evaporated. Add the chicken, pork, sausages and beans to the onion mixture and mix carefully but well.
Mix the stock and parsley and pour over everything. Season with pepper, mix again and sprinkle an even layer of the breadcrumbs on top. Cover, place in the oven and bake for 11⁄2 hours.
Remove from the oven and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover and serve. Serves 6.
Variations
Source: Ray McVinnie