Mediteranean Medley

As a personal chef I’m always on the lookout for dishes that will be new to my clients, but not too new. Dishes that are somewhat exotic, but not too exotic. Dishes that are easy for me to prepare, but don’t seem easy to prepare. And above all, dishes that freeze well. A couple of years ago I came up with one such dish.

I didn’t start out to make something suitable for my clients, instead I had an urge for cassoulet but didn’t want to take the time to make it. True cassoulet involves a multitude of ingredients, a lot of separate steps, and anywhere from one to two days (I even ran across a recipe once that took four days to prepare). Cassoulet is well worth the effort, but isn’t a task taken on lightly. I wondered if I could make something more quickly that, although not up to the standard of a great cassoulet, would still be good. I looked up several cassoulet recipes and developed the recipe below. It far exceeded my expectations.

It’s only dinner, but cooking makes honest people of liars, realists of dreamers, and well-ordered minds of chaotic and impulsive ones. ~ Molly O’Neill

When cooking for myself I seldom repeat dishes. I have a small repertoire of favorites that I might fix at most twice in a year: tuna casserole, jambalaya, fondue, corned beef and cabbage, gazpacho… But for the most part there are just so many things I haven’t tried yet that I avoid repeating myself. However, this bean dish has become a staple not only for my clients, but for my own table. It meets all the criteria for my clients (and is inexpensive to boot) and it’s deeply satisfying to eat.

Don’t think of this as a quick cassoulet, enjoy it as a good bean recipe in its own right. It’s richly savory, has a nice herbal background, and the red pepper gives it a nice bounce. It’s not too heavy for summer eating. Serve it with a hearty red wine, focaccia, and a green salad with a simple vinaigrette. (Note: I’ve published this recipe before, but it’s so good I wanted to do so again.)

Cannellini Méditerranée

2 19 oz cans cannellini beans
1/2 lb Italian sausage — cut into 1/2″ slices
2 tbsp olive oil
1 md. yellow onion — diced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 smoked turkey leg — skin removed and diced
2 garlic cloves — minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 sprigs fresh sage
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
healthy pinch of red pepper flakes
1 – 2 c chicken broth

Heat oven to 300F.

Brown the Italian sausage in olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Add all reamining ingredients to the pot along with just enough chicken broth to bring the liquid level with the other ingredients.

Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover and continue cooking for another hour until a few beans began to split and release some starch into the broth for thickening.

Note: this is one of those dishes that improves with age.

Technorati: Food | recipe | beans | cannellini

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