Ham Bean Cassoulet Recipes

EASY FRENCH CASSOULET WITH WINE, BEANS, SAUSAGE, HAM AND HERBS

Steps:

• In a large oven-proof skillet such as a Le Creuset or Dutch oven cook sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-low heat until meat is lightly browned and onion is tender; drain off fat.
• Add ham, parsley, and bay leaf; mix well. Stir in undrained beans, wine, and cloves.
• Bake, covered, at 325°F for 45 minutes.
• Uncover and bake 40 to 45 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.
• Serve in bowls with butter and a baguette or hot corn bread, if desired.
• Makes 6 servings.

WHITE BEAN CASSOULET

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium stock pot. Add the vegetables to the oil, stir frequently, and cook until lightly brown around the edges. Add remaining ingredients, except sausage, 1 at a time. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in sausage and allow to cook for 10 more minutes. Place in bowls, spoon 1 tablespoon of pesto and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sausage into each bowl. Serve with Garlic-Parmesan Crostini.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season the sausage with salt, to taste, and carefully place in a single layer across the skillet. Cook the sausage for 3 to 5 minutes over medium-high heat or until browned. Turn the sausages and repeat on opposite side. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice into 1/4-inch slices.
• Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat. Brush the garlic oil on the top and bottom of each slice of bread. Place the bread in a single layer over a sheet pan. Sprinkle each slice with parmesan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes on the middle oven rack until bread browns over the top. Serve.

HAM AND BEAN CASSOULET WITH CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• The night before, place dry beans into a pot, cover with enough water to reach 3-4 inches above beans, and allow to soak overnight.
• When ready to begin the cassoulet, drain the beans, rinse, and pick out any odd-looking bits.
• In a large dutch oven or stew pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until translucent and fragrant. Add the ham and garlic and continue to cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
• Pour both boxes of chicken broth into the pot followed by the beans, carrots, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, 2 - 2.5 hours until beans are very soft.
• When the cassoulet is almost done, prepare the dumplings. Mix together the first 6 ingredients and then using a pair of forks or a pastry blender, cut the cold butter into the mixture until it is coarse and crumbly. Add the buttermilk and mix until just combined.
• Drop the cornmeal mixture by heaping tablespoons into the cassoulet. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until dumplings are dry to the touch.

HAM AND BEAN CLASSIC FRENCH CASSOULET

Steps:

• Rinse and sort beans. In 6-quart slow cooker, combine beans and remaining ingredients; stir to combine. Cook until beans are very tender, about 7 to 8 hours on high heat setting. Remove and discard bay leaf. Ladle into serving bowls. NOTE: the Italian seasoning and the fennel are a substitute for herbs de Provence. If you have herbs de Provence, use 1.5 tsp of that and eliminate the Italian seasoning and fennel.

CROCK POT CASSOULET

Steps:

• FOR THE CASSOULET: In slow cooker stoneware, combine ham hock and beans.
• In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until softened. Add rosemary and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware. Add chicken stock to cover beans. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours, until beans are tender. It would be better to do this the night before.
• In a bowl, combine salt, garlic, peppercorns and thyme. Rub mixture into pork. Place pork in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F On a plate, combine cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Roll lamb shanks in mixture and place, narrow end up, on a broiling pan. Scrape excess salt from the marinated pork shoulder and place on same broiling pan. Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Remove Ham hock from beans. Remove tough skin and shred meat. Discard skin and bone. Cover and refrigerate meat. Stir tomato paste and bay leaves into bean mixture.
• Cut roasted pork into 1 inch squares and add along with lamb shanks to bean mixture. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours. Remove lamb shanks from mixture and scrape meat from bones. Discard bones and return meat to beans. Stir in kielbasa and reserved meat from ham hock. (See Tips) Transfer mixture to baking dishes, if necessary.
• BREAD CRUMB TOPPING: Preheat oven to 350°F In a bowl, combine ingredients. Sprinkle over cassoulet and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.
• TIPS: Using the slow cooker to make cassoulet makes it a manageable project. Cook the beans and marinate the pork overnight. The next morning, continue cooking as directed.
• This is a large quantity of cassoulet, and when the sausage and ham meat is added, it may not fit comfortably in the slow cooker stoneware. I have a gargantuan baking dish, Mexican in origin, that I use for the final assembly You may need to transfer the bean mixture to two large baking dishes before adding the bread crumb topping. If you are serving this as a dinner dish and have enough pottery, consider spooning the cassoulet into individual serving size ovenproof tureens. Add the topping and bake as directed.
• MAKE AHEAD: This dish can be partially prepared the night before it is cooked. Complete Steps 1 and 3, cooking beans overnight. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, continue cooking as directed. Serves 12.
• Delicious & Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes.

SMOKED HAM HOCK CASSOULET

Steps:

• Place the beans and the water in a large pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover partly and simmer until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a large, wide ovenproof pot over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until golden, about 7 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, sage and wine. Add the ham hock bones, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the bones from the pan and stir in the meat. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and dot with butter. Bake for 15 minutes. Divide among 6 plates and serve.

LIMA BEAN CASSOULET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Saute garlic in hot oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat, for 1 minute.
• Add in onion and carrots; stir/saute 3-4 minutes or until tender.
• Add in ham; cook 3 minutes; stir in beans, peas, and next 2 ingredients; bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make Cornmeal Crust Batter: combine all ingredients in a bowl.
• Remove bean/ham mixture from heat; pour batter over bean/ham mixture.
• Bake in oven for 28-30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.