Recipe: Cassoulet-ing It

Traditionally, cassoulet is a rather laborious dish to make. Duck fat, various sausages, legumes, meats, etc. cooked slowly over a long period of time. It's certainly a lovely dish to have when it's horrid and cold outside, like tonight.

Even with weekends, I don't normally have that kind of time to cook.

I found a chicken cassoulet recipe on cooking.com that is easy to prepare, healthier and tastes fabulous. Of course, I made adjustments to suit my palate, what my husband refers to as "Leica-fying."

Here is my version (by the way, I'm not one of those people who measure when cooking, so my measurements are approximate, adjust to your own taste):

4-6 strips of honey-smoked bacon, chopped

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 chicken thighs or any part of the chicken you prefer

1 cup white wine (sauvignon blanc is nice)

2 cups or more chicken broth

2 cans white beans (cannellini will work), 1 can mashed, 1 intact

1 turkey kielbasa, cut on the bias or crosswise

fresh thyme or a couple pinches of dried thyme

monter a beurre (optional - softened butter mixed with flour)

So, in a large dutch oven, over medium high heat put in bacon. Cook until browned. Add diced onion and minced garlic. Lower heat to medium and cook until onion is translucent. Transfer onion-bacon mixture to a bowl and set aside. In the same dutch oven, lay chicken skin side down and brown. Flip to brown the other side. Transfer to a plate and drain the fat off the pan. Return pan to heat and pour in white wine. Scrape those lovely browned bits at the bottom while the wine simmers. Add chicken, onion-bacon mixture, kielbasa and chicken broth. Then add the mashed beans. Mix. Add the intact beans and the thyme. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, covered. Uncover and let simmer for another 5-8 minutes, or until slightly thickened. I like adding the monter a beurre for a little extra richness and silky finish to the dish.

Season to taste. I find that it doesn't need much extra salt since there's bacon, broth and kielbasa.

Garnish with parsley.

Eat and enjoy! It tastes even better the next day, when you have it for dinner again.