Cassoulet is a classic French comfort food. There are a million ways to make it, but most recipes are a bit, uh, involved (read: one thousand ingredients, seven pages long, probably including steps to confit your own duck legs . . . ). I figured we could make a version of cassoulet that’s just as hearty, just as satisfying, but entirely fuss free. Baking chicken drumsticks with precooked sausages, plenty of aromatics, and a bit of white wine does the trick, and a crunchy panko topping seals the deal—this may not be an authentic cassoulet, but look! Everyone’s too busy enjoying dinner to notice.
4-6 Serves
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, with one rack in the center position and another 4 inches from the broiler.
- Arrange the chicken in the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Place the sausages around the drumsticks and scatter the onion and carrots all over. Drizzle everything with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, then arrange the beans, garlic, and thyme sprigs evenly around the pan. Drizzle over the wine and broth.
- Bake on the center rack until the dish is fragrant and a thermometer inserted into the thickest drumstick reads 165°F, 45 to 55 minutes.
- While the chicken cooks, in a medium bowl, mix the panko, lemon zest, parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.
- Remove the dish from the oven and set the oven to broil. Top the cassoulet thickly with the panko mixture and return to the oven to broil until the panko topping is golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute.
- Serve hot.
Excerpted from One Pan & Done by Molly Gilbert, copyright © 2017, published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photography copyright © 2017 by Aran Goyoaga.
