Cassoletto
I improvised this for family holiday dinner yesterday and it came out really well, though in need of a few tweaks which I've included here. It captures the essence of cassoulet-- a bean stew with several sorts of tender meats and veggies-- and turns the flavor profile distinctly Italian. Also, while it still takes a lot of wall time to make, this version needs much less prep time than traditional cassoulet and requires no particularly esoteric or expensive ingredients. This amount served 6 serious fressers with plenty of leftovers; it would probably serve 10 nicely with a side dish or two.
5 cans cannellini beans (15 oz per can, or use 4 of the larger 19 oz cans)
1 large (28 oz) can diced peeled tomatoes, or 2 regular size (14 oz) cans
2 cups or so of bread crumbs, either plain or Italian seasoned
1.5 to 2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, in one piece (have your butcher cut a typical 3-4 lb "picnic roast" in half)
1 lb boneless lamb stew meat, cubed
3/4 lb mild Italian bulk sausage
2 cups stock (either poultry or meat should work)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bag (14 oz) individually quick frozen pre-peeled pearl onions, thawed in the fridge and drained
4-5 medium carrots
1 stalk celery
1 large red onion
1 small yellow onion
1 fennel bulb
1 head garlic
2 bay leaves
6-7 medium to large sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
I. Prepare the pork shoulder
This can be done a day ahead or you can start it on the morning of the day you want to serve the dish, and the last part of the cooking can occur in parallel with part II below.
Peel and quarter the yellow onion. Peel one of the carrots and cut it into large chunks. Cut the celery stalk into large chunks. Put all of these into a small/medium size slow cooker along with two of the rosemary sprigs.
Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry. Cut several cloves of garlic into slivers. Cut small pockets all over the surface of the pork shoulder and insert the slivered pieces of garlic.
Brown the pork shoulder on all sides in a frying pan with a little oil, then add it to the veggies in the slow cooker. Add the stock and enough water to come most of the way up the sides of the meat. Set the slow cooker on its high setting and cook for 6 hours or until the meat is falling-apart tender. If you don't have a slow cooker or yours is too big to comfortably cook this smallish piece of meat, you could also cook it in a covered dish in a slow oven; it'd probably take about 3 hours at 300 degrees or so. But the slow cooker can be left unattended while you go do something else.
When the meat is tender, remove it gently and shred it. Strain the liquid from the slow cooker and set it aside; discard the veggies and rosemary. Put the strained liquid in a saucepan and boil it down over medium-high heat until it is reduced to about 1 cup.
II. Prepare everything else
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, brown the bulk sausage over medium heat, breaking it into small chunks as you do so. When the sausage is brown remove it with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Do not wash the pan.
Saute the pearl onions in the same pan over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, enough time to get them a nice medium brown (stir often and watch carefully to be sure they don't burn). Add some olive oil if the rendered fat from the sausage isn't enough to saute them in. When browned, remove to a large bowl. Do not wash the pan.
Coarsely chop the red onion, the fennel bulb, and the remaining 3-4 carrots, and finely chop a half-dozen or so more cloves of garlic. Sweat the onion and fennel with a generous sprinkle of salt in the saute pan over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, adding some more olive oil if necessary. Add the chopped carrots and half the chopped garlic and saute 10-15 minutes more. Remove all this to the bowl with the pearl onions. Do not wash the pan.
Brown the lamb cubes in two batches in the saute pan over medium-high heat. To each batch, add a couple of whole smashed garlic cloves and a bay leaf, plus more olive oil as needed. Remove the browned lamb to a plate and discard the garlic cloves and bay leaves. Now add the chopped garlic and saute over medium-low heat for just a few minutes, then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Let the wine evaporate over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes more, then add back the browned lamb with its juices. Add the canned tomatoes with all their juice and two more sprigs of rosemary. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring all of this to a slow simmer and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours, until the lamb is tender and the sauce is thick. Discard the rosemary sprigs.
III. Assemble and bake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. To the saute pan with the lamb in its tomato sauce, add the browned sausage and the shredded pork shoulder. Remove the leaves from the remaining 2-3 rosemary sprigs, chop them finely, and add that to the pan of meats.
Take a 6-8 quart stockpot and put 1/3 of the beans in the bottom of the pot. Add half the veggies from the large veggie bowl, then half the meats (with their sauce) from the saute pan. Moisten with half the reduced stock originally from the slow cooker. Now add another 1/3 of the beans, then the rest of the veggies, then the rest of the meats, then the rest of the reduced stock, and finally the remaining 1/3 of the beans. Top with a nice crust of bread crumbs and put in the oven. Bake uncovered for 75-90 minutes in all. Every 15-20 minutes during the baking, remove the pot from the oven, stir the bread crumb crust into the pot, and add some more bread crumbs to the top. You should stir in 4-6 crusts in total, enough to thicken the liquid in the pot considerably.
5 cans cannellini beans (15 oz per can, or use 4 of the larger 19 oz cans)
1 large (28 oz) can diced peeled tomatoes, or 2 regular size (14 oz) cans
2 cups or so of bread crumbs, either plain or Italian seasoned
1.5 to 2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, in one piece (have your butcher cut a typical 3-4 lb "picnic roast" in half)
1 lb boneless lamb stew meat, cubed
3/4 lb mild Italian bulk sausage
2 cups stock (either poultry or meat should work)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bag (14 oz) individually quick frozen pre-peeled pearl onions, thawed in the fridge and drained
4-5 medium carrots
1 stalk celery
1 large red onion
1 small yellow onion
1 fennel bulb
1 head garlic
2 bay leaves
6-7 medium to large sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
I. Prepare the pork shoulder
This can be done a day ahead or you can start it on the morning of the day you want to serve the dish, and the last part of the cooking can occur in parallel with part II below.
Peel and quarter the yellow onion. Peel one of the carrots and cut it into large chunks. Cut the celery stalk into large chunks. Put all of these into a small/medium size slow cooker along with two of the rosemary sprigs.
Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry. Cut several cloves of garlic into slivers. Cut small pockets all over the surface of the pork shoulder and insert the slivered pieces of garlic.
Brown the pork shoulder on all sides in a frying pan with a little oil, then add it to the veggies in the slow cooker. Add the stock and enough water to come most of the way up the sides of the meat. Set the slow cooker on its high setting and cook for 6 hours or until the meat is falling-apart tender. If you don't have a slow cooker or yours is too big to comfortably cook this smallish piece of meat, you could also cook it in a covered dish in a slow oven; it'd probably take about 3 hours at 300 degrees or so. But the slow cooker can be left unattended while you go do something else.
When the meat is tender, remove it gently and shred it. Strain the liquid from the slow cooker and set it aside; discard the veggies and rosemary. Put the strained liquid in a saucepan and boil it down over medium-high heat until it is reduced to about 1 cup.
II. Prepare everything else
Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, brown the bulk sausage over medium heat, breaking it into small chunks as you do so. When the sausage is brown remove it with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Do not wash the pan.
Saute the pearl onions in the same pan over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, enough time to get them a nice medium brown (stir often and watch carefully to be sure they don't burn). Add some olive oil if the rendered fat from the sausage isn't enough to saute them in. When browned, remove to a large bowl. Do not wash the pan.
Coarsely chop the red onion, the fennel bulb, and the remaining 3-4 carrots, and finely chop a half-dozen or so more cloves of garlic. Sweat the onion and fennel with a generous sprinkle of salt in the saute pan over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, adding some more olive oil if necessary. Add the chopped carrots and half the chopped garlic and saute 10-15 minutes more. Remove all this to the bowl with the pearl onions. Do not wash the pan.
Brown the lamb cubes in two batches in the saute pan over medium-high heat. To each batch, add a couple of whole smashed garlic cloves and a bay leaf, plus more olive oil as needed. Remove the browned lamb to a plate and discard the garlic cloves and bay leaves. Now add the chopped garlic and saute over medium-low heat for just a few minutes, then deglaze the pan with the white wine. Let the wine evaporate over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes more, then add back the browned lamb with its juices. Add the canned tomatoes with all their juice and two more sprigs of rosemary. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bring all of this to a slow simmer and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours, until the lamb is tender and the sauce is thick. Discard the rosemary sprigs.
III. Assemble and bake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. To the saute pan with the lamb in its tomato sauce, add the browned sausage and the shredded pork shoulder. Remove the leaves from the remaining 2-3 rosemary sprigs, chop them finely, and add that to the pan of meats.
Take a 6-8 quart stockpot and put 1/3 of the beans in the bottom of the pot. Add half the veggies from the large veggie bowl, then half the meats (with their sauce) from the saute pan. Moisten with half the reduced stock originally from the slow cooker. Now add another 1/3 of the beans, then the rest of the veggies, then the rest of the meats, then the rest of the reduced stock, and finally the remaining 1/3 of the beans. Top with a nice crust of bread crumbs and put in the oven. Bake uncovered for 75-90 minutes in all. Every 15-20 minutes during the baking, remove the pot from the oven, stir the bread crumb crust into the pot, and add some more bread crumbs to the top. You should stir in 4-6 crusts in total, enough to thicken the liquid in the pot considerably.