Merguez, Chorizo and Butter Bean Cassoulet
Rosemary Shrager's hearty sausage casserole with chorizo and butter beans is the perfect recipe for an easy midweek dinner that's warming and full of flavour.
From the book
Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery Course: 150 tried & tested recipes to be a better cook
Become a master of the kitchen with Rosemary Shrager
150 classic and failsafe recipes
Everyday basics to family favourite feasts
Introduction
This is a proper winter warmer, packed with spicy sausages and great flavours. You may like to cook your beans from dried if you have time, but I often use canned for speed and ease. I’m all for making life easy when possible.
Ingredients
| 2 tbsp | olive oil |
| 500g | merguez (spicy North African sausages) |
| 80g | smoked bacon or pancetta, cut into small strips |
| 140g | chorizo, sliced |
| 1 | white onion, peeled and finely chopped |
| 2 | garlic cloves, crushed |
| ½ tsp | sweet smoked paprika |
| 100ml | good-quality red wine |
| 400g | can of tomatoes, drained |
| 400g | can of butter beans, drained |
| 250ml | chicken stock |
| 1 tbsp | chopped tarragon |
Essential kit
You will need: a flameproof casserole dish.
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Place a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat and add a tablespoon of the oil. Add the merguez and cook them on all sides until golden brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
2 Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and then the smoked bacon or pancetta and the chorizo. Cook over a medium heat until they have both browned and the chorizo has released its oils. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3–4 minutes until the onion has softened. Stir in the smoked paprika and cook for a couple of minutes to release the maximum flavour.
3 Add the wine, bring to the boil and cook until it has reduced by half. Now add the tomatoes, butter beans, browned merguez and the chicken stock and bring back to the boil. Cover the dish and place it in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the sauce has nicely reduced.
4 Remove the casserole dish from the oven and add the chopped tarragon. This is meant to be quite an oily dish but you can drain off some of the chorizo oil if you like. Serve immediately with some hunks of good crusty bread.
