Sausage, Leek and Chorizo Cassoulet
Sausage, Leek and Chorizo Cassoulet is a quick and easy casserole made from leeks, beans and sausages with a breadcrumb topping. It's very loosely based on the classic southern-French dish cassolet (pronounced cass-o-lay) which is made from fatty cuts of pork, duck and beans with a breadcrumb topping.
Good quality sausages are a must for this dish. I use chipolata sausages in this recipe because being thin they cook faster, but use chunky sausages if you prefer. This recipe is inspired by Jaime Oliver's quick time sausage cassoulet.
Sausage, Leek and Chorizo Cassoulet
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
12 x good quality chipolata sausages
100g sliced chorizo, cut into matchsticks
500g leeks, halved, sliced and washed well
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 x 400g cans beans, either haricot, borlotti, cannellini or butter beans
500g carton of pasatta
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp of each: dried rosemary, thyme & sage
2 slices of bread
Olive oil
Ingredients:
Pre-heat the oven to 200 C / gas mark 6.
Grill the sausages under a medium heat until cooked. Meanwhile, cook the other ingredients.
Fry the chorizo for a couple of minutes in a large frying pan until the fat comes away. Add the leeks and fry for a further 3-4 minutes until soft (you may need to add some olive oil). Add the garlic, beans, passata, bay leaves and just over half the herbs. Stir, bring to the boil and simmer while you make the breadcrumbs.
To make the breadcrumbs, pop the bread into a food processor and pulse until you have made breadcrumbs. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and the remaining herbs. Pulse again until well combined.
Pour the bean mixture into an oven proof dish and spread evenly with a spoon. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top and nestle the sausages into the top of the breadcrumbs so they are half exposed. Bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden and the mixture is bubbling.
