Chicken and Pork Sausage Cassoulet

A variation on the traditional recipe for cassoulet

📝 Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) canola oil
• 8 free-range chicken drumsticks and thighs
• 8 pork sausages
• 250 g streaky bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 250 g button mushrooms
• 1 tsp (5 ml) dried thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 C (250 ml) red wine
• 2 x 400 g cans whole tomatoes
• 2 fat cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
• 1 x 400 g can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 C (250 ml) fresh breadcrumbs
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) grated Parmesan
• handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
2. 2In a large pot, heat the oil and brown the chicken pieces and pork sausages. Remove and keep to one side. In the same pot, add the bacon and sauté until crispy, then add the onion, celery and carrots and cook until soft. Add the mushrooms, thyme and bay leaves and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the wine and reduce to half, then add the tomatoes, garlic and sugar and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the beans and season to taste.
3. 3Arrange the chicken and sausages in a large baking dish, pour the sauce over, making sure bits of the chicken and sausages are sticking out. Combine the breadcrumb topping and sprinkle over the dish. Bake for 40 minutes until golden and bubbling.
4. 4Serve with a fresh baguette, rice or creamy polenta.