I don’t cook French food that often (although I did make this Rouleaux Niçois a few years back) so when Love Celery got in touch asking me to try a French recipe, I thought I’d give it a whirl.
They have plenty of recipe inspiration on their website and after a browse around, I settled on this warming cassoulet with celery gratin. As all good French cooking goes, the cooking process began with the classic French mirepoix mix of carrot, celery, and onion. I’ve never actually made it before and although it was time consuming chopping all those tiny bits of carrot, onion and celery, I think the flavour it imparts was worth the effort.
This white bean and celery cassoulet recipe was not only simple but also a revelation. When baked, celery transforms into something wonderful with a texture and flavor that’s a far cry from my usual routine of dunking it raw in hummus! The white beans added a creamy, hearty element that made the cassoulet incredibly satisfying. The combination of these ingredients created a comforting and warming dish perfect for cold days.
Next time you’re food shopping, don’t forget to grab some celery and give this cassoulet a try!
White bean and celery cassoulet
Serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped, plus 1 head, cut into thumb-sized lengths
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ tsp dried tarragon
- 175ml dry white wine
- 300ml vegetable stock
- 1 x 600g jar haricot beans
- 125ml double cream
- 20 pitted green olives, roughly chopped
- ¼ nutmeg, grated
- Salt and pepper
For the breadcrumb topping:
- 75g Panko breadcrumbs
- 25g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 40g Comte cheese, grated
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Method
- Heat the butter in a large casserole dish. When it’s melted and bubbling, stir in the mirepoix ingredients: onions, carrots and finely chopped celery (keeping back the larger pieces) and season generously with a pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables are completely tender. Stir in the bay leaves, garlic and tarragon.
- Add the celery to the pan and pour over the wine and vegetable stock. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes at a gentle simmer, until the celery is tender.
- Preheat the oven to 200c.
- Stir all of the ingredients for the breadcrumbs in a bowl to combine and set aside.
- Stir the beans and cream through the celery mixture, along with the green olives and nutmeg. Season well with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Scatter the breadcrumb topping over the celery and bean mixture and slide onto the middle shelf in the oven. Cook for 25 minutes, until the mixture is bubbling.
I served this with buttered carrots, crispy potatoes and roast chicken thighs. It was a delicious Sunday meal and there was even some left over to eat the next day! It would also be great with sausages or even just crusty garlic bread as a vegetarian main dish.
See the recipe here:
See a real of me making this dish!
View this post on Instagram
