Forty Minute Cassoulet

Name: Forty Minute Cassoulet
Yield: makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 4 cups chopped tomato with the juice (canned is fine); 1 tablespoon chopped garlic; 4 cups white beans, nearly fully cooked, drained if canned or frozen; 1 cup stock, dry red wine, bean cooking liquid, or water; Salt; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste; 1 pound Italian sausage, preferably in 1 piece; 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes; 1 boned duck breast

December 20, 2011

Cassoulet in forty minutes or less is heresy, of course, but even “real” cassoulet was designed as a bean stew containing whatever meat, preferably fatty and flavorful, was available to throw in. That’s the spirit here, too. Although the pork tenderloin need not be browned before further cooking, the sausage benefits from a quick browning, definitely worth the five-minute effort. If you can get duck confit, just brown it lightly on both sides, adding both it and its fat to the stew in place of the duck breast.

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