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Cassoulet With Lots of Vegetables

Cassoulet is one of the best of the myriad of traditional European dishes that combine beans and meat to produce wonderful rich, robust stews. This recipe maintains that spirit, but is much faster, easier, less expensive, and more contemporary, emphasizing the beans and vegetables over meat. (That probably makes it more, not less, traditional, since meat was always hard to come by before the mid-20th century.)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound Italian sausages, bone-in pork chops, confit duck legs, or duck breasts, or a combination
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 2 leeks or onions, trimmed, washed, and sliced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 medium zucchinis or 1 small head green cabbage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 cups chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are fine)
  • ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 cups cooked white beans (canned are OK), drained and liquid reserved in any case
  • 2 cups stock, dry red wine, bean cooking liquid, or water, plus more as needed
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

      871 calories; 44 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 71 grams carbohydrates; 26 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 86 milligrams cholesterol; 1162 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

4 to 6 servings

Preparation

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the meat, and cook, turning as needed, until the meat is deeply browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
  2. Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic, leeks or onions, carrots, celery, and zucchini or cabbage; and sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, their liquid, the reserved meat, and the herbs and bring to a boil. Add the beans; bring to a boil again, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat so the mixture bubbles gently but continuously. Cook for about 20 minutes, adding the liquid when the mixture gets thick and the vegetables are melting away.
  3. Fish out the meat and remove the bones and skin as needed. Chop into chunks and return to the pot along with the cayenne. Cook another minute or two to warm through, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and serve.

40 minutes

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