Please sit down because I have something very important to say to you: you must make this dish as soon as humanly possible. Are you at work? Feign illness and leave immediately. Don’t like beans? Get over it.
Why do I feel so strongly about this recipe? For one thing, the difficulty level is possibly that of “Beagle.”
Yes, I could make this
The flavor is unforgettable. It will make your house smell like some kind of rustic yet refined neighborhood French bistro that you perhaps frequent in your fantasy life. Even after I was done eating I kept sticking my fork back into the serving dish for one more bite.
For the three of us I cut this recipe down by two-thirds. The vegetarian ate around the sausages but I wonder if you could make this with fake sausages, or at least part real/park fake. Maybe someone can try it out and report back. You could certainly use turkey sausage.
I only now realized that I forgot to add the balsamic vinegar so obviously it works without it.
Cassoulet-Style Italian Sausages and White Beans
Adapted from Perfect One-Dish Dinners, by Pam Anderson
Serves 8
Printable version
4 slices good quality white bread, torn into medium pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2-1/2 lbs. sweet Italian sausages
3 pints cherry tomatoes
1 large onion, cut into 1″ chunks
4 large garlic cloves, sliced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dried thyme (or 4 teaspoons fresh)
3 bay leaves
Freshly-ground black pepper
3 15-oz cans white beans, undrained
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
Pulse the bread in a food processor until you have coarse crumbs. Toss with butter and toast in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Set aside.
Mix sausages, tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, thyme, bay leaves and pepper in a large, heavy roasting pan. Set pan in oven and roast until sausages are brown and tomatoes have broken down, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, stir in beans, and continue to roast until casserole has heated through, about 10 minutes longer. Fish out bay leaves, sprinkle with bread crumbs and serve.
Well if Pooka gives it a paws up, I have to try it. Will report back on sausage options as my vegetarian will occasionally eat turkey.
Hey Kate:
I made this last week, half with meat sausages and half with Yves vegetarian Italian sausages. Sausages were placed in different pans, but put in the oven at the same time, and they both came out great! Making this (these? since I have to make two different kinds?) dish again this weekend for friends. I highly recommend this recipe. So easy, so fresh, and so delicious!
That dog is sooooo cute.
I have a couple of questions. What kind of white beans did you use? Cannellini? What brand? Goya?
I think 1-1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar sounds like a lot so I might leave it out deliberately, but I am going to try this recipe.
@Mary: I forgot you had made this with veggie sausage. I’m glad it worked and thanks for letting us know!
@Victoria: yes, exactly, Goya cannellini beans.
Oh, I would highly recommend the balsamic vinegar. It really gave the dish more depth in flavor. I used Great Northern white beans because my husband was told by the Dominick’s guy that it was the same thing (it’s not, Great Northern’s are smaller, but worked in this dish nonetheless). We didn’t use bread crumbs. I think this is really one dish you can’t mess up!
OK, who can resist Pooka?! I’m in.
Just returned from purchasing the ingredients and I am going to make this tonite, cutting recipe in half. My son will whine and complain, and I don’t care.
What can we come up with for Benjamin? What are some of his favorites? I’m determined to find the perfect dish for your whole family Susan!
I made this for dinner last night (1/2 recipe) and the two of us finished it for lunch today. Magnificent!
Glad you liked it Fitzie!
I made this dish last night. I didn’t have the balsamic vinegar (what happened to it?) so I used a couple of dashes of Lea & Perrin WS. I also added a few shakes of TC creole seasoning (I can’t help that I live in Louisiana) and I also had to use canned tomatoes, diced and organic they were. Anyway this was sooooo delicious. I served it over wilted spinach (very, very wilted) and no bread crumbs, and I would recommend this to anyone. Even during the summer when it’s hot, this is a easy meal and all you need is a salad. We just turned the AC up a bit. LOL!
I just made this tonight after scouring the web for some good sausage recipes and this was AMAZING. Literally. Amazing. I will be checking this blog on a regular basis – thanks for trying this one out!!!