Cold Weather Cassoulet with Brown Ale
Lucy Saunders
prep
time : One to two hours
recipe type:
soups, chili and stews
ingredients:
10 oz. smoked chicken breast
12 oz. smoked country bacon, diced
1 lb. cubed and trimmed lamb
1 16 oz. can white beans, drained
2 c. lima beans or Great Northern beans
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and minced
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
1 12-oz bottle brown ale
Peeled zest of 1/2 lemon
Handful fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
|
ube or shred the smoked chicken breast. Place the lamb and diced bacon in a large Dutch oven, and set over medium heat to brown, stirring often. Lamb should still be rare inside, but nicely and evenly browned outside. Remove from heat, pour off extra fat, and then add the chicken bits. Add the beans, bell pepper, beer and seasonings, and stir well, so that all are combined in the Dutch oven. Cover and cook at 325 F for 1 1/2 hours, and stir twice while cooking. Mince the lemon zest, parsley and garlic together in a food processor, or in a mortar-and-pestle. Sprinkle this on top of the cassoulet and stir a bit, in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove bay leaves before serving the cassoulet with a side salad of wild greens.
For a more traditional (and more expensive) cassoulet, substitute smoked duck breast for the chicken.
|