Recipe: Tasty Cassoulet, for 2

Cassoulet, for 2. Layers of duck, two kinds of sausage, a hearty ragout, and beans make this the comfort meal to end all comfort meals. It's an occasion to break out the biggest pot you own. That wasn't going to happen so I found a cassoulet with "easy" in the title and decided to go with it and change the ingredients to make it work for two.

Health Tip: Adding pulses such as cannellini beans to a meat-based main dish bumps up the fiber and protein without adding saturated fat. The first time I had cassoulet in its home turf it was a revelation. This loose, almost soup-like stew of beans and meat was so far removed from all versions of cassoulet I'd had in the United States, or even in other parts of France. You can have Cassoulet, for 2 using 13 ingredients and 8 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Cassoulet, for 2

1. Prepare 1 of carrot, cut into small cubes.
2. You need 1 of red onion, peeled and chopped.
3. It's 1 of celery stalk, finely sliced.
4. Prepare 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped.
5. You need 1/2 tsp of dried thyme, sage and rosemary.
6. You need 2 of duck legs, or leftover duck or goose chunks.
7. You need 2 of large sausages, or equivalent amount of chipolatas, left whole.
8. It's 1 can of beans, any type, in water. cannellini beans work well..
9. You need 1 can of chopped tomatoes.
10. It's 1 of small 190 ml bottle of red wine or 1 glass of red wine.
11. It's 1-2 slices of bread - fresh, stale or toasted, it doesn't matter!.
12. It's 1 tbsp of olive oil.
13. Prepare 1/2 head of cabbage, your choice, shredded, or some green beans.

It was a large, bubbling vat of beans and meat, covered in a crust so dark that it was almost black. Rich, meaty, and overwhelmingly simple, the main flavor was. Soak Great Northern beans in water in a large bowl overnight. Drain beans and place into a large soup pot.

Cassoulet, for 2 instructions

1. If using fresh duck or goose, put in the oven now at 180 C, and follow the rest of the steps up to step 7 while it's cooking..
2. Gently fry the diced carrot, red onion, celery and garlic in a little oil until softened and just starting to brown..
3. Add the dried herbs to the fried veg.
4. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half..
5. Add the beans and tomatoes with their juice. Simmer until reduced by half..
6. While the mixture simmers, whiz the bread with some olive oil and a sprinkling of dried thyme in a food processor to make bread crumbs. If you haven't got a food processor then just finely chop or pick into little croutons and mix with the olive oil and thyme by hand. Or, if you have a pack of breadcrumbs, use those..
7. Lay the sausages and duck or goose on top of the veg and bean mixture, and place the oily breadcrumbs in the gaps between the meat, and cook in the oven until the meat is browned and there is only a small amount of liquid left, around 40 mins..
8. To include some greens, serve with some steamed and seasoned cabbage or green beans, and a glass of red..

A traditional cassoulet would include white beans, duck or duck confit, pork, sausages, and/or mutton. However, it was a peasant's stew, constructed based on availability of ingredients therefore varying readily. Typically, Cassoulet is a long cooking dish often taking days to prepare. This recipe is a shortcut, staying true to the rustic intentions of the stew but timed for more modern. Cassoulet is one of the most magnificent examples of French home cooking.