If you ever watch Rachael Ray, you might have heard her chatty self talking about making “stoup” – a cross between a soup and a stew. I like to think of a cassoulet as a rustic French version of a “stoup.” A cassoulet generally involves tomatoes, white beans, and sausage. A traditional cassoulet is supposed to have more white beans than tomatoes, alas, it is still tomato season down here so this cassoulet was all about the tomatoes and sausage and a little bit less about the white beans.
This is a super easy crock pot meal! Perfect for any time of year – don’t be afraid to use your crock pot even if it is still warm outside. We even use our crock pot in the summer because it doesn’t get the kitchen as hot as using the oven or having something simmering on the stove for a long time. (Truthfully … with four small children around, I rarely have anything simmering on the stove for awhile! Nothing good could come of that.) Of course this delicious recipe is also naturally gluten-free – the ingredient list is super simple – delicious local Italian sausages from C-Saw Hill Farm, chopped tomatoes from my garden, a delicious white onion, and a few cloves of garlic. We served our cassoulet over rice but you could also serve it over pasta, a baked potato, a chunk of hearty bread, or just by itself.
Ingredients:
1 lb Italian sausage, cooked
3 or 4 large chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
4 or 5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (or 2) white beans, drained
Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a crockpot. Simmer on low for about 3 to 4 hours. Enjoy!
