Rustic Cassoulet (Bean stew)

A French Bean Stew – Cassoulet is a great one pot dish and can be made and left to its own devices.  The addition of a meat option is down to the chef with the dish being so versatile and will readily accept sausages, Pork, chicken or duck as the main accompaniment.

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 2 hrs
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 140g smoked Streaky Bacon
• 140g garlic sausage or chorizo
• 2x 400g tinned cooked Haricot beans or use dried (soak overnight in 3 times volume of water)
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 onion skinned
• 2 carrots
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 ripe large tomatoes seeded and diced
• 1 bouquet garni bag
• Salt
• Black pepper ground
• Half a lemon
• 2 bay leaves
• Flat leaf parsley
• Vegetable oil
• 250 ml chicken stock
• Tomato purée

Method

1. Finely dice onions, celery and carrot
2. Add oil to a pan on a medium heat and cook the onion, celery and carrot for approx 10 min until coloured then add the crushed garlic.
3. Slice bacon into thin strips and add to the pan along with the garlic sausages/chorizo, cook well, stirring occasionally.
4. Add beans, tomatoes, bouquet garni, bay leaf and most of the stock.
5. Continue cooking on a low heat for 1.5 hours stirring and adding stock as you go, this could be done in a casserole pot in the oven or on the hob.
6. Add a good squeeze of tomato purée about half an hour before end and test the dish for seasoning, if you like spice you could add paprika or chilli powder at this point.
7. Test the beans to see if cooked and mixture is a lovely amalgamated consistency, add lemon juice, chopped parsley and serve.

Serving suggestions

Serve with your choice of meat options such as Sausage, duck legs or chicken/pork.