An ongoing bean project...
...and one of my faves - cassoulet
Have you ever had an idea in your head, and you just knew it was going to turn out great, and then…well, it didn’t quite measure up to what you had imagined? The excitement, the build-up, and then BAM! the disappointment.
That’s me and these beans I’ve been working on. Here’s the story -
Last summer, my brother and I took dad on a trip to Chicago for his birthday. While we were there, we met up with his cousins who live outside the city for dinner at a wonderful Greek Restaurant, Psistaria Greek Tavern. (Check out the menu, I wanted to order everything on it!) For one of our starters, we ordered the Gigantes - which are a giant Greek lima bean baked in a tomato and herb sauce. Served with toasted bread, it was just the perfect dish for a bean lover such as myself, and I could have made an entire meal of it.
Then and there I decided I was definitely going to “copy cat” those beans and whip up a batch at home. Ha!
Turns out gigante beans aren’t actually sold in your typical American grocery store. Especially not one in Middle Tennessee. So, after a little research, the internet told me that the “large limas” or “butter beans” I can find here work as a substitute. Excellent news! Off I went to get those beans!
For the first experiment, I went with canned butter beans. I use canned cannellini beans and canned chickpeas all the time, so it seemed like a great option. I sautéed a little finely minced veg (onion, carrot, celery) and garlic, stirred in some tomato paste, white wine, and broth and then added the beans to simmer for a while. It was pretty good. It was nothing like what I was trying to do, but it was good. It came out a little heavier and richer and the beans a little softer than what I was remembering.
I decided I needed to go with the dried bean option. Back to the store and home with a one-pound bag of dried large limas. Experiment number two was brought about when I saw a slow-cooker version of beans from Alexandra Stafford. Throw the dried beans and other things in the pot, and off you go! Well, these are the beans that you might remember I said came out crazy bitter, and I couldn’t figure it out. I had such high hopes, too.
So, for try number three, I decided I needed to go back to basics and actually soak the dried beans overnight, and then cook them off as just a big pot of beans before adding them to my other ingredients. Back to the store for another bag of dried large limas. (At this point the people at the store have to be wondering about this lady who comes in every week to just buy beans…) So, here we go. Beans soaked in salty water overnight, drained and rinsed the next day, and gently, lovingly simmered for an hour and a half, and when I go to test a bean to make sure they’re prefectly cooked - holy bitter bean Batman! It’s the dadgum bean itself! I do a little more digging, and now the internet tells me that large limas are just susceptible to being bitter. You’ve got to be kidding me!
At this point, I’m pretty frustrated. I can specialty order actual gigante beans and try again. But they’re expensive. And, when I’m working on a recipe that ultimately I want to share with you all, I want it to be accessible and the ingredients easy to find. I don’t want to send you on a treasure hunt.
Don’t worry, I’m not giving up. I do have a couple of other ideas to try. But in the meantime, I’ve been thinking about bean recipes that actually work and come out tasty every time.
Things like these Crispy Chicken Thighs with Beans and Greens or this Chickpea Coconut Curry or a cozy Vegetarian Cassoulet.
Today’s recipe (below!) also fits the bill - a hearty, classic Cassoulet filled with all the meats and beans and vegetables for a one-stop, eat it out of a big bowl with a hunk of good bread and a glass of wine kind of dinner.
Since this one is more of a project recipe, I took out a step and did go ahead and use canned beans. They work great here, and I don’t mind the softer, creamy bean texture as a base to hold together the slow cooked meats and onion/carrot/celery combo all baked under a crispy breadcrumb topping. It’s a winner, winner, bean dinner.
If you made it this far, I hope you’ve enjoyed a little glimpse into how I test recipes and how it can be frustrating sometimes. For now, I’m off to try, try again. See you back here next week!
MONDAY - Ritzy Cheddar Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Limas
This recipe from The New York Times Cooking caught my eye last week when I saw it online. Crushed ritz crackers and cheddar cheese pressed onto chicken breasts and baked until crispy. Really, it reminds me of something you might find in a 1990's edition of Taste of Home (you know, vintage), yet still I am intrigued.
TUESDAY - Chili, Grilled Cheese
A couple of weeks ago when we had snow, I thought we might do chili and grilled cheese for “Dinner at Yaya’s”, but we ended up doing something else. Since then, I’ve been thinking about chili, and what do you know, I have some in my freezer also! So, chili and grilled cheese for dunking it is!
WEDNESDAY - Shredded Chicken Tacos, Mexican Style Rice
A spiced and sauced chicken mixture stuffed into tortillas and topped with cheese and salsa. Thinking about toasting them up in the air fryer…
THURSDAY - Creamy Pesto Pasta, Italian Sausages
Penne pasta in a creamy pesto sauce with little roasted grape tomatoes scattered over the top. Sliced Italian sausages on the side.
FRIDAY - Friday Night Pick-Up
SATURDAY - Date Night!
Kiddo has a spend-the-night birthday party at a friend’s, so we have a night to ourselves! Go out or cook at home?
SUNDAY - Dinner at Dad’s!
Marinated pork tenderloin with roasted potatoes and other veggies. Or maybe a homemade pizza from a recipe he just emailed me…
LUNCHES for this week -
I’m going to make this recipe for brothy chickpeas with pasta from Carolina Gelen. It looks like just the kind of comforting, warming, simple meal I crave this time of year.
EXTRAS for this week
I have a few ideas for this week! I baked a simple yellow cake topped with chocolate ganache and sprinkles for my almost-sister-in-law’s birthday. Next up are a few things I need to make so I can get pictures for you all - a couple of different hummus recipes and a sausage meatball sheet-pan dinner. And, of course, I’ll keep working on those blasted beans…
Cassoulet
Makes about 6-8 servings
· 1 pound boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs, cubed into 1-inch pieces
· 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
· 3 Italian Sausage Links (from a 1-pound package Italian Sausage Links, see note below)
· ½ pound Bacon, chopped into half-inch pieces
· 1 medium Onion, diced
· 3 medium Carrot, diced
· 3 medium ribs Celery, diced
· 3 cloves Garlic, minced
· 1 tablespoon minced fresh Thyme Leaves
· 1 teaspoon dried Rosemary Leaves
· ½ teaspoon kosher Salt
· ½ teaspoon ground Black Pepper
· 3 cans Cannellini Beans (14.5 ounce each), drained, but not rinsed
· 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
· ½ cup White Wine
· 2 cups Chicken Broth
Breadcrumb Topping
· 2 cups fresh Breadcrumbs
· ½ cup Olive Oil
· 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
· ½ cup chopped fresh Parsley
Preheat the oven to 350 and arrange a rack in the top third.
Coat a large, rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Toss the cubed chicken thighs with the two tablespoons of olive oil and spread on one half a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. On the other half of the baking pan, lay out the sausages. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Flip just the sausages over and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a 6-quart (or larger) heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pan (such as a Dutch oven) over medium to medium-high heat, and cook the chopped bacon until browned and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel lined bowl and set aside. Drain all but about 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease from the pot.
Add the onions, carrots, celery, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Stir often. Stir in minced garlic and cook just one minute more. Remove from heat.
Move oven rack to middle position. Slice the cooked sausages you set aside into one-inch slices.
Add the reserved chicken thighs, sausages, and bacon to the Dutch oven with the vegetables. Stir in the tomato paste and drained beans. Stir in the wine and broth. Move the pot to the oven and cook, uncovered, for 1 ½ hours, stirring at the 45-minute mark.
While it is cooking, you can make the breadcrumb topping –
In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, olive oil, parmesan, and parsley. Stir well to ensure all breadcrumbs are coated in the oil. Set aside until cassoulet is done cooking.
Remove the cassoulet from the oven once it has finished cooking. Spread the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top. Put it back in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are toasted and lightly browned in color.
Remove the cassoulet from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
NOTE – Most one-pound packages of sausage links come with 5 links. You will only need 3 for this recipe. You can either only cook 3, or you can cook all 5 and save the other 2 for another use.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)
All recipes categorized by type can be found in the index!