Cassoulet

Now if you want to make this properly then you need to cook it for about a day over a slow heat or in the oven, But this a quick and easy version of what is one of my favourite French dishes. Now that is easy for me to say as there are so many of them but this is in the top ten. Casseroles that is, leaving plenty of other categories to clarify and fill.

You will need

250g/9oz smoked streaky bacon
4 Toulouse sausages
4 garlic cloves
1 large onion
1 x 400g/14oz can flageolet beans
1 x 400g/14oz can tomatoes
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 chicken legs
250ml/9floz white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
50g/2oz white breadcrumbs

Take a large sauce pan and heat it on the stove top so it is nice and hot. Then take your bacon and pop it in so it cooks realising all the fats and oils and becomes nice and brown. Then add you chopped onions to the pot and let them cook down a little along with the crushed garlic. Now get the sausages and chicken in to the pan and start to brown them off.

Now add the tinned tomatoes flageolet beans, washed and drained from the can, thyme and white wine. Bring to the boil and season with salt and pepper. Now turn down low and cover with a lid and just cook for about another 30 minutes, until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Just keep an eye on things and do not let it boil dry.

Finally stir in the parsley roughly chopped and cover the top of the stew with the bread crumbs and let them just soak up the juices in the pan. If you want you can put it in a hot oven or under the grill to crisp up the bread crumbs if you like.

And that is that my quick and easy Cassoulet