If you are looking for a proper, traditional French cassoulet... this is not it. I repeat, this is not it! 😁 This is a bit of a shortcut cassoulet. It used canned beans, precooked smoked sausage, and pan seared chicken as opposed to duck confit. It’s also a bit tomato forward. You can make it thicker or more “brothy” by adjusting the amount of chicken stock you add. But, while not traditional, it’s still rather tasty.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
4 slices thick, incited bacon, sliced
6 chicken thighs
7 oz precooked smoked sausage, sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans cannellini beans
1 tsp salt, plus additional to season thighs
½ tsp black pepper, plus additional to season thighs
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
1½ cups tomato purée
2-3 bay leaves
1-2 cups chicken stock
1 6 oz can tomato paste
½ cup white wine
Handful of chopped parsley
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Begin by adding 1 tbsp of olive oil to a Dutch oven and then cooking the bacon over medium heat until crispy, about 5-8 minutes. While the bacon is cooking, prep the chicken thighs. Trim any excess skin as desired and season both sides of the thighs with salt and pepper. Remove the bacon from the Dutch oven with a slotted spoon, and place it on a bowl lined with paper towel to drain. Add the chicken to the Dutch oven, searing it it in the bacon fat. Brown each side, about 5 minutes per side. Cool the thighs in batches if needed. Remove the seared thighs to a plate.
Turn the heat down to low-medium and add the onion, carrots, and celery to the Dutch oven, which should have plenty of bacon and chicken fat at this time. Cook the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until soft. Then add the garlic and cook for a minute.
Turn the heat to low. Add the white wine and deglaze the Dutch oven. Use a wooden spatula and scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the Dutch oven. Now add the tomato purée, salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence, and stir to blend. Allow to cook for 3 approximately minutes. Add them beans, broth, and bay leaves. If you want the stew thicker, add one cup of broth. If you wanted it looser, add 2 cups. Stir to combine. Lastly stir in the tomato paste to thicken the stew.
Add the sausage and bacon back into the stew. Stir to incorporate. Finally, place the chicken thighs into the Dutch oven along with any collected juices. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and put it on the oven. Allow it to cook in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, remove it from the oven, carefully remove the bay leaves from the stew, and you are ready to serve.
Serve the cassoulet in shallow bowls topping with a chicken thigh and sprinkling with chopped parsley.