Bean and Chicken Cassoulet #SundayFunday

This quick and easy bean and chicken cassoulet has all the flavor of those long, slow recipes so that you can enjoy it anytime.

You might wonder how I am sharing this for the Sunday Funday theme of Croissants.......

A Classic Pairing; Revisiting Languedoc #FrenchWinophiles

This month's French Winophiles is hosted by Jason and Jill of L'Occasion.  Last October, also under the guidance of L'Occasion, we visited Languedoc as well.  I found that Cassoulet originated from this region of France and shared a Slow Cooker version along with my wine pairing.

To kick off the New Year, Jason and Jill asked us to revisit Occitanie (formerly Languedoc) specifically the AOP's of Minervois and Corbieres.  You can learn more at their preview post.

They chose this month because January 9th is National Cassoulet Day.  To help us out, the folks at L'Aventure Languedoc sent each blogger a bottle of each AOP to sample.  I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.  Well, I'll be stating my husband's opinion as well.

Another group of which I am a member, The Kitchen Matrix Cooking Project, was also celebrating Cassoulet this month.  I decided to make a Cassoulet using my Instant Pot and paired it with these wines for dinner one evening.  You can find my recipe here.

While I put the finishing touches on dinner, Frank opened and poured both wines.  He tasted each and  jotted down his thoughts:

Gerard Bertrand Minervois 2013:

• Good legs
• Lighter color 
• Black Pepper on the nose

Domains St. Eugenie Corbieres 2016: 

• Good legs
• Deeper finish
• Purple in color

I took a sip of each and added that I found hints of raisin in the Minervois and found the Corbieres to be fruity and dry.

We sat down for dinner and we were surprised how differently we felt the pairings were with the Cassoulet.  Frank absolutely loved the Corbieres with his dinner.  I told him I thought the Minervois was much smoother with the Cassoulet than the Corbieres.  

His response?  Good.

Then he took the bottle of Corbieres and set it in front of him, leaving me to enjoy the bottle of Minervois with my meal.  

Here are what the others are sharing this month.

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm: A Classic Pairing; Revisiting Languedoc
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish: Warming Up with the Wines of Corbieres and Minervois
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Conquering Cassoulet Alongside the 2014 Minervois le Chateau d’Albas
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog: What Grows Together, Goes Together – Slow Cooker Cassoulet Paired With Affordable Occitanie Wines #Winophiles
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog: Spending January in Languedoc Drinking Wine and Eating Cassoulet
• Jeff from FoodWineClick: Let’s Make Occitanie and Cassoulet Household Words
• Nicole from Somm’s Table: Kicking Off 2018 with Corbieres and Minervois
• Jane from Always Ravenous: Hearty Red Wines of Corbières and Minervois Paired with Cassoulet
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest: Corbières and Minervois – Where Syrah and Carignan Shine
• David from Cooking Chat: Chicken Cassoulet Paired with Languedoc Wine
• Rupal from Journeys of a Syrah Queen: Staying Warm the French Way – Cassoulet and Wine
• Liz from What’s in that Bottle: Let’s Learn About Wines from Languedoc #Winophiles
• Amber from Napa Food and Vine: A Tale of Two Wines
• Jason and Jill from  L’Occasion: Eat, Drink, Travel the South of France: Minervois and Corbières
• Susannah from Avvinare: Mas Du Bosquet-An Unexpected Find From Minervois
• Gwen from Wine Predator: Cassoulet Domesticates the Wild Wines of Minervois andCorbieres

Please join us this morning at 11 AM ET for chat following #Winophiles on Twitter.

Cassoulet in an Instant Pot #KitchenMatrixCookingProject

Did you know that the French dish, Cassoulet, had it's very own holiday?  Neither did I, but I learned that January 9th is the day set aside to celebrate this comforting, homey dish that originated in the Languedoc region of France.

There are some amazing wines from the Languedoc region as well and we are celebrating those wines this month over in the French Winophiles group to which I belong.  I will post more about that on Saturday when I talk about how these wines paired with this recipe that I'm sharing today.

My friend, Cam, invited us to join her on a journey this year as she cooked her way through Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix Cookbook.  You can read all about her challenge and join us if you'd like.  All the information is found in this post.

Each Tuesday we post a recipe inspired by a section or subsection of this cookbook that encourages you to think outside the box and be creative with recipes.  As luck would have it, Bittman has a section just for Cassoulet.  Since Cam also belongs to our Winophile group, she chose Cassoulet as our entrée for this month.  Thank you, Cam.

Bittman wrote a recipe for classic Cassoulet containing duck stock and duck confit.  I love duck but, unfortunately, am the only in the household that does.  I have made Cassoulet in the past, sans duck, using my slow cooker.  That recipe was also used to celebrate the wines of Languedoc and can be found in this post.

I was tempted to follow Bittman's recipe to a T. The thought of buying a whole duck, making stock and confit and braising it all in the with some lamb was very appealing to me.  I could invite company for dinner and have Frank suffer through having to eat not only duck but lamb too, for which he also doesn't care.

Then, as I read through Bittman's thoughts on Cassoulet a couple of sentences struck me and stuck in my mind.

"There are two ways to think of cassoulet.  The first is as a canonical recipe from the South of France.  The second way is as simply a glorified version of franks 'n' beans."

"When making a traditional dish it is important to remember that the people who "invented" them just used what they had."

Glorified Beanie Weenies?  Count me in coach.  Frank LOVES Beanie Weenies.

I went into the freezer to see what I had.  I had a package of spare ribs and some smoked chicken sausage.  I also had a day filled with errands to run and since I had already made a slow cooker cassoulet and wasn't going to be home to tend to the oven, I decided to make my cassoulet in the  Instant Pot.

One of the things I love about the Instant Pot is the saute setting that allows you to brown your meat right inside the pot, instead of dirtying another pan and smattering up your stovetop.  I cut the ribs into portions, seasoned them with salt and pepper and browned them before adding the sausage, beans and vegetables to the pot with some chicken stock.

I adjusted the setting on the pot to the stew/meat function that automatically sets the timer to cook for 35 minutes.  It takes about 10-15 minutes for the heat and pressure to build to the point where it starts to cook.  Once done cooking, I let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before opening the quick release valve.

Because I used spare ribs, I had the added step of removing any bones and gristle from the dish, before dishing it up and sprinkling some seasoned bread crumbs over the top.  All in all it took about an hour and 15 minutes from the time I pulled out the ingredients to being read to serve.  That's not too bad considering it would take a minimum of 4-5 hrs. if making it in the traditional fashion.  And that is after spending a couple of days making your stock and confit.

I do hope to make a traditional cassoulet one day but in the meantime this version and my slow cooker version are certainly delicious and comforting during these cold winter days.

Make sure you stop by and see how the others created their Cassoulet. You will find links immediately below my recipe.

Cassoulet in an Instant Pot

inspired by Kitchen Matrix by Mark Bittman

2 T. olive oil

6 portions meaty spare ribs

salt and pepper, to taste

2 chicken sausages, cut into thirds

2 c. white beans, soaked for a few hours (I used Northern beans)

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1 carrot, scraped and sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/2 an onion, diced

1 T. Herbs de Provence

Garlic seasoned bread crumbs, if desired

Add the oil to the Instant Pot and set to saute setting.  Season the ribs with salt and pepper.  Add them to the pot and brown on all sides.  Add the sausage, beans, broth, onions, carrots, celery and Herbs de Provence to the Instant Pot.  Cancel the saute setting and seal the lid onto the pot, making sure the vent is closed.  

Set the Instant Pot to meat/stew setting.  It will automatically set up to cook for 35 minutes once the pot is heated and pressurized.  When done cooking, allow the steam to naturally release for 10 minutes before carefully releasing the remaining steam.  When pressure gauge is seated, open the pot and remove the ribs to a cutting board.  Remove the meat, discarding the bones and any gristle.  Return the meat to the pot and stir to combine.  

Serve garnished with seasoned bread crumbs, if desired.  Print Recipe

More Comforting Cassoulets

An InLinkz Link-up

Celebrating Languedoc with Cassoulet #FrenchWinophiles #MadeinFrance

We are celebrating Langeudoc with The French Winophiles this month.  This party is hosted by Jason and Jill over at L'Occasion.  You can see their Preview Post here.

This party came on the tail of our #Made in France event.  You can read all about how this event came about in my Wine and Cheese post.  I also wrote about it in this post and then in this pairing with venison in which I linked to the posts that my fellow Winophiles had written.

I had received a dozen wines from Whole Foods for the Made in France event.  One of them was this bottle from Languedoc. I knew that we were celebrating this region later in the month so I set it aside to share with you now.

While this wine was given to me as a sponsor gift for the purposes of the Made in Wine event all opinions voiced in this, and all my posts, are strictly mine.

Since I already had the wine from this region chosen I needed only decide on the food pairing.  I did some research and the dish that came up time and time again to represent the Languedoc area of France was Cassoulet.

Cassoulet is a slow cooked stew originating in the south of France.  Many versions contain duck.  Some contain pork skin.  All contain white beans, meat and tomatoes.

I wasn't making this dish during a long leisurely weekend when I had hours to spend creating this wonderfully rich stew.  So I did what every busy person does when faced with this dilemma.  I turned to my trusty slow cooker.

It took me an hour to layer all the flavors but then once it was in the slow cooker I could walk away and not think about it again until dinner time.

I cooked the bacon to a crisp and set it aside.  Then I browned the country ribs in the bacon fat until they had a nice sear.  Removed them from the pan and pulled up all the brown crispy bits stuck to the pan by deglazing with white wine.

When that was reduced by half, I added the tomatoes and chicken broth and let that warm through and reduce a bit before putting everything into the slow cooker on low for 6-7 hrs.

About a half an hour before we were ready to eat I pulled out the bottle of wine from Mas Cavalier de Lascaux.  Frank opened the wine and poured while I put the finishing touches on dinner. This winery has been in the Cavalier family for 13 generations.  It is nestled in the foothills of Cevennes.  You can learn more about the winery and the wines it offers at their website.

And what a wonderful dinner it was.  We started off with the wine.  We took a sip and were simply unimpressed.  Often French wines are too soft for our palate that is used to the bolder,  harsher new world wines. 

Then we had a bite of the stew and another sip of wine. Oh.....there it is...the light in the distance.  Another bite and another sip and then we understood why the rule about wine and food from the same regions exists.  The wine and the stew were average on their own and brought to the next level when shared together.

Slow Cooker Cassoulet
adapted from Thomas Keller

2 lbs. boneless country style pork ribs
salt and pepper, to taste
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
3 slices thick cut bacon, diced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 c. dry white wine
2 T. tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can Italian plum tomatoes
1 c. chicken broth
2 (15 oz) cans, white beans, drained and rinsed
7 oz. smoked sausage, cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, smashed
handful of parsley, chopped

Cut the ribs into chunks, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place the olive oil and bread crumbs in a large skillet over med high heat.  Cook and stir until bread crumbs are golden brown, 4-5 minutes.  Remove to a small dish and set aside.

Place the bacon into the skillet and cook until crisp, 4-5 minutes.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

Add the seasoned pork to the bacon fat in the skillet and sear until browned on all sides.  Remove and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.

Add the onions to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown and softened.  Add the wine and tomato paste.  Cook and stir until reduced by half, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Heat to a boil, roughly chopping up the tomatoes.  Pour over the pork in the slow cooker.

Add the beans, sausage and garlic cloves. Stir to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hrs or until the pork is falling apart.  Remove crock from heat source.  Remove the garlic cloves and stir in the breadcrumbs and parsley. Add more salt and pepper, if needed.  Print Recipe

More Wines from Languedoc

• Martin from Enofylz explores a 2014 Domaine L’Ostal Cazes “Grand Vin” Minervois La Livinière #Winophiles 
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog encourages you to Say Yes to Languedoc Wine 
• Nicole from Somm’s Table shares a pairing of  Domaine de Majas Côtes Catalanes Blanc with Butter Poached Salmon and White Asparagus 
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is Celebrating Languedoc with Cassoulet 
• Gwen from Wine Predator is eating Grilled Cheese with 4 Affordable Wines from Occitanie: new name for a fave region in France 
• Jane from Always Ravenous is cooking up Rustic Sausage Kale Pasta with Languedoc Wine 
• Melanie from Wining with Mel offers a French kiss: a glimpse into the food and wine of Languedoc 
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is sharing An Easy Dinner with Anchoïade and Mas Cavalier de Lascaux 
• Olivier from In Taste Buds We Trust explores Boutenac: Balance in the Languedoc 
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest says they are Making Great Wines in the Languedoc-Rousillion #Winophiles 
• Jason and Jill from L’occasion is talking about New Roots Along the Canal du Midi