This is not really a Portuguese cassoulet or, maybe it is.  I don’t really know, I just made it up because I wanted to make something for my neighbor Tonio to thank him for all the help he has provided in getting me settled back into Sens.  Whatever it is, it was good and Tonio liked it.  Although I did start with spicy Portuguese chorizo  ;)

Because I got this big idea on Tuesday instead of Monday, many of the shops I wanted to visit were closed and the intended pork cassoulet became a chicken cassoulet with not the beans I wanted to use.  I did have fresh oregano, basil and bay leaf and that was good.

I would have liked to sprinkle the chicken with piment d’espelette instead of paprika, but as the chorizo was pretty spicy, I don’t want to hurt the fragile, French stomach of M. You Know Who.  As it was, between heaping fork fulls, “girly man” comments were made :)

For those of you who are new followers of my blog, I am the proud owner of  multiple Emile Henry tajines and I have sorely missed this red one.  Tajine doesn’t have to equal Morocco.  You can cook anything in these babies!

Above is Tonio’s elbow and below is a gratuitous photo of  Tonio’s wife, Chantal, with Le Parret’s cat.

Cassoulet Portuguese

1-2 links spicy Portuguese chorizo, sliced into rounds

6 chicken legs, separated into drumsticks and thighs

Salt and pepper

Smoked paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup red wine

1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

2 cans good quality white beans, drained

2 sprigs fresh oregano leaves

1 sprig fresh basil leaves

2-3 fresh bay leaves

Cook and brown the chorizo slices in a large skillet to extract some of the grease, drain on paper towels and set aside.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika, then heat the olive oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken pieces.  Place the chicken in the bottom of a tajine.

Add the onion and garlic to the chicken skillet and saute until the onion is soft.  Add the wine and boil for 2-3 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half.  Add the tomatoes, broth, herbs, beans and chorizo then simmer for about 10 minutes.  Pour the sauce over the chicken, cover and cook in a 400 F oven for 45 minutes, remove cover and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the original on: Cooking in Sens