Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds dried gread Northern beans
  • 1 pound smoked sausage, cut at an angle into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 onions, one diced, one left whole
  • 3 carrots two sliced 1/4 inch thick, one left whole
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 pound thick sliced center cut bacon, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 10 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 pound kielasa, sliced 1/2 inch thick
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 4 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 Tablespoo0n salt
  • 2 teaspoons pepper

Directions

Wash the beans well and put into a large stock pot. Cover with water by 2 inches and let set overnight.

Add the whole onion, carrot, 2 of the thyme sprigs and 3 of the bay leaves to the beans. Add more water to the pot until the beans are again covered by two inches. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer unitl the beans are mostly tender but with still a little bite to them, about 50 to 60 minutes. The beans will have soaked up most of the water they were in.

Meanwhile, pour the olive oil into a large skillet and place over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook stirring every now and then until crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the crispy bacon pieces to a paper towel lined plate and reserve. To the same skillet, add the diced onion, sliced carrots and garlic and sweat the mixture for 20 miinutes until the onion begins to turn translucent.

Add the smoked sausage to the vegetable mixture. Add the remaining bay leaves, thyme sprigs and siced kielbasa and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the wine, beef broth, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Raise the heat to high, bringing the mixture to a boil. Stir well to dissolve the tomato paste and lower the heat. Allow to simmer for 5 mintues.

Remove the whole onion and carrot from the beans, add the vegetable sausage mixture to the stockpot and return to a low heat. Stir well and cover. Let the cassoulet simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the wine mixture has been absorbed by the beans. Spoon into a casserole dish, sprinkle the top of each serving with some of the reserved crispy bacon and serve with a crusty baguette on the side.

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