Cassoulets

Cassoulets create fragrant, mouthwatering aromas and make a sumptuous meal. Originating in southern France, the casserole always contains meat, beans and herbs with many variations each having it's own personality.

To decrease the cooking and prep time use Bush's Best Beans

Serves 8-10
Prep time: 45 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

6 garlic cloves garlic, minced

2 allspice berries

1/4 pound bacon, diced

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoon tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1/4 pound lamb ( I used a lamb shank)

1/2 pound smoked pork sausage, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 pound duck breast, cut into bite size pieces

2 teaspoons thyme, minced

Instructions:

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil to medium high heat. Add onions and carrots and sautÃ© until onions are translucent.

Add allspice, bacon, garlic, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Continue to cook until bacon is done. Remove allspice. Add beans to bacon mixture.

Reduce heat to low and add bay leaf, lamb, sausage and duck and continue to cook on medium heat until duck is fully cooked at least 30 minutes. Add salt, pepper and thyme. Cook additional 15 minutes.

Serve with baguette and a French red wine.

Cooking Wiser:
Cook in Slow Cooker; place in cooker after adding allspice, garlic, bacon, and tomatoes to beans. Cook on high for 2 hours.

Wine Pairing:
Each cassoulet requires its own wine pairing because they can have different flavor profiles.

Try this recipe with a Syrah blend.
At one of our wine dinners the cassoulet with paired with a French Syrah blend we brought back from France. It was a nice pairing.