Chicken Cassoulet Style One Pot
This easy one pot recipe, based on the traditional French ‘cassoulet’, is wholesome and tasty containing a selection of bacon lardons and flavourful sausages.
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4 fat pork sausages
8 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on or off as you prefer
100g bacon lardons or bacon, finely diced
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
2 - 3 sticks of celery, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
200ml stock
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 x 400g tin borlotti beans (approx 240g drained weight)
1 x 400g tin cannellini beans (approx 240g drained weight)
9 short sprigs of rosemary
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Step 1: First prepare the sausages by gently twisting in the middle and cutting in half. Spear each one with a short sprig of rosemary. Place the sausages on a tray and brown them on the top shelf of the roasting oven for about 10 minutes, until they are nicely browned.
Step 2: Meanwhile, put a AGA cast-iron casserole pan on the AGA boiling plate or on the floor of the AGA roasting oven and cook the chicken thighs, skin side down, to brown. Remove the chicken thighs once browned.
Step3: Put the bacon lardons in to the casserole pan and cook on the boiling plate until crispy. Add the sliced onion along with the whole garlic cloves, fennel seeds and finely sliced celery. Transfer to the AGA simmering plate or to the floor of the AGA roasting oven and cook until soft and browned.
Step 4: Once browned, place the pan on the AGA boiling plate, pour over the red wine vinegar, stir and add the stock, tomato puree and a teaspoon of salt. Put the sausages and chicken into the pan, bring to a simmer then cover with a lid and cook in the AGA simmering oven for 90 mins.
Step 5: After 90 minutes stir and add the beans and a sprig of rosemary.
Step 6: To finish, remove the lid, taste and season then insert a rosemary sprig into 3 of the sausage pieces and serve.
Serve with a green salad and some crusty bread.
This dish is ideal to prepare in advance and reheat - traditionally it is heated and cooled three times to enrich the flavour and make a crust on the top. Suitable for freezing once completely cooked.
