Vegetarian Cassoulet

This is what is left of the cassoulet we had for Thanksgiving dinner today. I combined ideas from two different recipes and added different seasoning. It is an ideal vegetarian dish for a special occasion.

Ahead of time...

Cook white beans (navy, kidney etc). You will need 4 cups cooked beans or the equivalent amount of canned beans (2 cans)

I used a wok with a lid for this part of the recipe...

Add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to the pan and add

• 2 stalks of celery cut in half and sliced 
• 1 large diced onion

Cook until starting to soften and add

• 2-3 cloves of crushed or finely diced garlic
• 1 large potato diced in 1 cm squares
• 1 large carrot diced like the potato
• 3 diced roma tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• herbes de provence*

We were given several pouches of savoury herb rub with our turkey and I added one to the cassoulet. It was perfect. Herbes de provence include a mixture of marjoram, sage, thyme, savory, basil, rosemary and fennel seeds. Add a tablespoon of the herb mixture to the broth and vegetables.

Add 

• 4 cups cooked white beans

Simmer the vegetable-bean mixture until the carrots are tender and some of the liquid has cooked down. You can mash the beans and vegetables a little to thicken the stew.

Topping...

Take 3-4 thick slices of crusty bread (like a baguette) and blend them to make 2-3 cups of coarse bread crumbs. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, some salt and pepper and 2-3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese to the crumbs. You can also add some parsley and garlic of you want (I didn't this time). Spread the crumb mixture thinly in a 9x13 pan and lightly toast it in the oven for a few minutes. 

Add the vegetable mixture to a casserole and top with the crumbs.