JACQUES PEPIN'S THIRTY MINUTE CASSOULET

Old recipes can and should be adapted to suit today’s lifestyle. Here is a new and healthier version of cassoulet, the countryside classic dish from France: Thirty-Minute Cassoulet, adapted from Jacques Pépin's Fast Food My Way

I draw the line when it comes to making a traditional cassoulet. For one thing, the traditional version takes something like three days to prepare, and for another, it includes a liberal amount of duck fat plus the rind of almost a whole pig ... I'll pass.

Duck fat and pork rind were used in kitchens of centuries past. Caloric intake during those times was high, but people burned calories faster than we do because they were highly mobile and engaged in significant labour. The country folk who prepared cassoulet used fat as a method of preserving food plus they were careful to use all parts of any animal they slaughtered.    
Today’s lifestyle is different and comparatively more sedentary. Additionally, we are all of us aware of the health risks associated with eating foods high in fat content. There's just no need to cook like that anymore. 

Jaques Pépin, gentleman chef extraordinaire, offers us a recipe for a cassoulet that can be cooked in less than one hour. Convenient, tasty, and healthier. Thank you, Chef Pépin.

JACQUES PEPIN'S THIRTY MINUTE CASSOULET:

                                     

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound rolled shoulder ham (also called a daisy ham or Boston Butt), tough outer skin removed, cut into four pieces

1 pound Italian sausages, cut into 3-inch pieces

1 pound skinless chicken thighs

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

1 cup sliced carrots

1 diced onion
1 can (14.5 ounces/400 grams) whole peeled tomatoes, chopped

4 cloves garlic crushed

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

2 cans (15½ ounces/450 grams each) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 

black pepper

coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit /180 degrees Celsius.   
• Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ham, chicken and Italian sausage.
• Cover and cook over high heat for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
• Add the mushrooms, carrots, onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Mix well and cook for another 10 minutes.
• Add the beans, tomatoes and pepper 
• Bring back to the boil, cover, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
• At serving time, discard the bay leaves, cut the ham into slices and the sausage pieces in half, and arrange the meat on a platter with the beans.
• Sprinkle the parsley on top.