Chicken Cassoulet

Serves 6

Ingredients

750g dried haricot beans or dried borlotti beans (soaked and drained)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1kg chicken thigh fillets or chicken breast fillets (cut into 2 cm cubes)
2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
2 onions (chopped)
2 leeks (sliced)
250g salami (chopped)
2 cans tomatoes (undrained and mashed)
1/2 cup/125ml dry white wine
1 bouquet garni
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups/125g wholemeal breadcrumbs (made from stale bread)

Method

1 Place beans in a large saucepan. Pour over fresh cold water to cover by 5 cm. Place over a high heat. Bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until beans are tender. Drain.

2 Heat oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add chicken.

3 Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until brown on all sides. Remove from pan and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

4 Add garlic, onions and leeks to pan. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onions are golden.

5 Add salami, tomatoes, wine and bouquet garni. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Return chicken to pan. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Season to taste with black pepper.

6 Preheat oven to 200 C (Gas mark 6).

7 Spoon half the chicken mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with half the beans. Repeat with remaining chicken mixture and beans to use all ingredients. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling and top is golden.

Tip: Beans are an essential ingredient for any cassoulet as they give the dish its characteristic creaminess and flavour. To speed up the preparation process, canned beans can be used.