Zen Cooking Light: Ellie Krieger’s Easy Cassoulet

I arrive home from work: the dishwasher needs emptying, there’s a mountain of washing up left from breakfast and the trash and recycling need taking out in the cold and snow…..where to begin? Thankfully I left a Slow Cooker Cassoulet bubbling for dinner!

I shared these thoughts on facebook last Monday as I pondered my kitchen clean up.

Returning to the sanctuary of our home and closing the door behind us, momentarily oblivious to the mess which adorned my kitchen, I sighed a breath of relief when the aroma greeted us.

I’m on the look out for new ways to get dinner ready ahead of time and it’s comforting to know that when it’s freezing outside, there’s something warm and hearty to serve in a bowl for dinner.

Ellie Krieger’s Easy Cassoulet, a herby chicken, sausage and bean recipe from her cookbook “comfort food fix,” is perfectly simple and Ellie makes healthy tweaks to lighten up her “beloved main courses.” It features as the first recipe in our monthly Zen Cooking Light series.

Traditionally made with duck pieces and Toulouse sausage, I remember eating steaming bowls of cassoulet every Winter in our Farmhouse in Southwest France. The reason we love Ellie’s cassoulet is because she maintains the flavor of the original recipe but balances the nutritional content by making substitutions for the duck and sausage. With Ellie’s lighter touch, we adapted her recipe for our slow cooker in order to fulfil our seasonal need for a satisfying meal. It’s a great recipe for the impending holidays.

Prep Time 15-20 minutes Cooking Time 6-7 hours on LOW or 3-4 hours on High Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp light olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 1/2 cups /1 medium onion, diced
1 cup / 2 parsnips, diced
1 cup, 2 celery ribs, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp allspice, ground
1 tbsp flour
1/3 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 x 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
3 x 14oz cans haricot or cannellini beans
1 1/2 lb or 6 chicken pieces, bone in and skinless
salt & pepper
4 oz low fat kielbasa or other sausage, 1/3 inch rounds
Olive oil spray
1/2 cup / 1 slice wholemeal bread made into toasted breadcrumbs

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the onions, parsnips and celery. Sauté for 3 minutes until glossy and translucent. Add the minced garlic and stir into the mixture before transferring it all to your slow cooker.

Stir in the rosemary, thyme, bay, allspice, flour, wine, broth, tomatoes and beans.

Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil in the same skillet that you cooked the onion mixture in. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sauté for 2 minutes on each side until lightly browned.

Tuck the browned chicken pieces into the bean mixture in your slow cooker along with the kielbasa or sausage.

Cover and cook on Low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4.

To make the breadcrumbs put the bread into a blender and pulse until they resemble a crumbly texture. Spray a skillet with non stick olive oil spray. Over a medium heat add the breadcrumbs and move around the pan for a minute or two until golden brown. Ellie suggests these can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

Remove the cover of your slow cooker and sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs over the top of the cassoulet.

Serve with either a generous green salad tossed with toasted walnuts, olive oil and lemon dressing or a steamed bag of Brussel sprouts, crushed almonds and grainy mustard vinaigrette.

Zen Moment

“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”