Recipe: Weekday Cassoulet with Garlic Bread Crumbs (Melissa d'Arabian)

WEEKDAY CASSOULET

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cut in 1/2 through the bone
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound slab bacon, sliced into large lardoons (pieces)
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups cooked Great Northern white beans
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tomato, sliced very thinly
Garlic Bread Crumbs (recipe follows)
1 baguette, sliced (for serving)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rinse and dry the chicken well and season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes.

In a large Dutch oven, over medium low heat, add the bacon and slowly render the fat. Remove the bacon to a plate when crispy, leaving the fat in the pan.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken on both sides and then remove to a plate.

Add the onion, celery and carrots and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, another minute. Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduce by half.

Stir in beans, bay leaf and thyme. Nestle chicken thighs and bacon back into pot. Add the chicken stock.

Cover and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. During the last 15 minutes of cook time, remove the lid and cover the top with sliced tomatoes and the Garlic Bread Crumbs.

Serve cassoulet with baguette.

GARLIC BREAD CRUMBS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 slices slightly stale or dried bread, pulsed into crumbs in food processor
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small saute pan over low heat, add the oil and the garlic. Stir until the oil is fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss in the bread crumbs and cook until the bread crumbs start to turn golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from heat.

Makes 4 servings
Source: Melissa d'Arabian, Food Network
Show: Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d'Arabian
Episode: Grub For Guests