French cassoulet soup

Name: French cassoulet soup
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 5
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 900g short, thick pork sausages (I use 8 x 110g); 200g piece of speck, skin removed, cut into 8mm dice (see note); 2 onions, finely diced; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3 carrots, peeled, quartered lengthways and sliced into 6mm thick pieces; 2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme; 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary; 2 bay leaves; 1 tbsp tomato paste; ¼ cup chardonnay (or other dry white wine; substitute with chicken stock); 3 x 400g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed; 750ml (3 cups) low-salt chicken stock; ¼ tsp cooking salt; ½ tsp black pepper

Nagi Maehashi

June 26, 2023

This cassoulet-inspired soup has stacks of flavour from the pork, speck, rosemary and thyme.Rob Palmer; Styling: Emma Knowles

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:5

This one comes to you from my chef, Jean-Baptiste Alexandre. Being French and a chef, he is very protective of traditional recipes. So when he made a soup version of cassoulet, the famous French sausage bean casserole, and declared it great, I knew it was a keeper.

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
900g short, thick pork sausages (I use 8 x 110g)
200g piece of speck, skin removed, cut into 8mm dice (see note)
2 onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled, quartered lengthways and sliced into 6mm thick pieces
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp tomato paste
¼ cup chardonnay (or other dry white wine; substitute with chicken stock)
3 x 400g cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
750ml (3 cups) low-salt chicken stock
¼ tsp cooking salt
½ tsp black pepper

Method

Step 1
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat and sear sausages until browned all over. Place on a plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Then cut them at a 45-degree angle into 1.5cm-thick chunks.
Step 2
Still on medium-high heat, add the speck, onion, garlic, carrot, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion has softened but is not golden.
Step 3
Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to simmer, scraping the base of the pot, until most of it has evaporated.
Step 4
Add the beans, sausage chunks, stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 5
Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Step 6
Serve with crunchy cheese bread for dunking.

Note: Sold in block form, speck is traditionally used in cassoulet so you can bite into meaty golden-brown chunks. Bacon makes an adequate substitute. Try to buy thick-cut bacon to replicate the speck experience as closely as possible.