Info
- Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Time from start to finish: 4 hours
- Yield: 6 to 8
Ingredients
For the Casserole
- 1 pound dried Great Northern beans
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch lardons
- 1 pound Bratwurst sausage or fresh Polish sausage (4 to 5 links)
- 1 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 pound chicken drumsticks
- 1 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
- 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup fennel, finely chopped, with fronds set aside for garnish
- 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes in tomato juice
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
For the Breadcrumb Topping
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- Kosher salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Start the casserole by putting the dried beans in a medium saucepan with 1 tablespoon salt and 8 cups hot water. Set over high heat, bring to a boil and let bubble for 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, cover it and leave the beans to stand for 1 hour, until they are "al dente" — tender but still offering some resistance to the bite. Drain and rinse them under cold water.
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Set a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the bacon lardons and let the fat render slowly, stirring now and then, until the bacon is crispy, about 15 minutes. Lift the bacon out and drain it on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
- Raise the heat to medium and put the sausages into the bacon fat left in the pot. Brown them on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side, then move them to the baking sheet to drain.
- Season the chicken thighs and drumsticks well on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the Dutch oven in two batches and cook each batch until deeply golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Drain on the baking sheet.
- Add the onions, carrots, fennel and celery to the rendered fat and stir, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 2 minutes more, until softened. Add the tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes, until it is evenly mixed into the vegetables and just starting to toast. Stir in the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, white beans, parsley, rosemary and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Slice the sausages on the bias into thin rounds and return them to the pot with the bacon, stirring to combine. Pour the cassoulet into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and arrange the chicken thighs and drumsticks on top. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the chicken.
- Set the baking dish on a baking sheet and put it in the oven. Bake until the surface is a rich, deep brown, the liquid has reduced and the beans have come up to the top, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Take the dish from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- While the cassoulet bakes, make the topping: melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the breadcrumbs and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toast, stirring often, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and parsley.
- Scatter the breadcrumb topping and some fennel fronds over the cassoulet and serve right away.
