This is a recipe that caught my eye in a cookbook from the Alba Library and Museum, which has a nice collection of different cookbooks. Wasn't too sure about it while making it, but it turned out great and will make it again. Makes a lot!

6 cups of water
1 lb. navy beans
Salt/Pepper to taste
2 cans of chicken broth
1/2 lb. diced bacon
8 chicken pieces or same quantity of deboned chicken breasts
1lb. polish sausage dashed or sliced crosswise
4 carrots quartered
4 medium onions quartered
3 cloves of crushed garlic
2 crushed bay leaves
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped celery leaves
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. sage
1 lb. can of tomatoes

Cook the beans in chicken broth and water for a couple of hours until almost tender. Salt and pepper as desired.

Fry bacon in large skillet. Brown chicken in bacon grease then brown sausage in same skillet added some oil if needed.
Remove and saute onions, garlic, and carrots in same pan adding spices while cooking. Then add tomatoes and mix in.

If pan is big enough (otherwise use a large casserole dish), add the chicken, sausage, bacon, and beans with liquid (Use your own judgement as to how much liquid. It came out soupy which was fine to me but seemed to make more liquid as it cooked.) to all the above.

Bake in the oven at 350-375 for 1 1/2 hrs. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired. Eat with a spoon and knife in a soup bowl.

This sounds interesting, I think I will give it a try this weekend.

Thanks.

I love cassoulet and this is a very good recipe for it. About once a year or so I make a batch. I do it with duck confit and homemade Toulouse sausage. Everything else is just about he way you have it. The only thing I would say, after the baking process I would, as is traditional in Castlebury, add some bread crumbs, seasoned, that have been browned off in butter. I would sprinkle those all about the top and then return tot he oven for another baking. A crisp white wine and some crusty french bread and you're in heaven.

Have to backtrack a little on the cassoulet. It was good but man-o-man did it give me the gas. I don't mind a little gas, but the bedsheets fluttered all night. Must have been the navy beans as pintos, black beans, etc. don't do that to me. Has anyone tried this with other beans or substituting rice or potatoes for the beans. I wonder if quartered new potatoes might be a good substitute.

I took the liberty of converting this recipe to a Crockpot version as I don't have a large enough casserole dish to make it in. I also changed a few ingredients and measurements to kind of give a Cajun twang to the recipe and cooked it up yesterday. It came out really good. For those of you who like to cook using a Crockpot, give this a try.


Crockpot Cassoulet
Serving Size : 6
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 cups water
1 lb. navy beans
1 tablespoon Tony Cachere"s Seasoning
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. sage
2 bay leaves
2 cans chicken broth
1 lb. can of tomatoes -- with juice
1/2 lb. diced bacon
1 lb. chicken breast strips
1 lb. andouille sausage dashed or sliced crosswise
1/2 package baby carrots
2 medium red onions -- quartered
2 each white onion -- quartered
3 cloves crushed garlic

Cook the beans in chicken broth and water, Tony Chachere"s, thyme, marjoram, sage, and crushed bay leaves for four hours on high until almost tender.

After four hours add the tomatoes to the Crockpot.

Fry bacon in large skillet. Brown chicken in bacon grease then brown sausage in same skillet. Remove and sauté onions, garlic, and carrots in same pan. Drain all ingredients on paper towels and add to Crockpot.

Reduce the temperature to low and cook for another two hours and enjoy.