A perfect Fall Sunday cooking dish today– a simplified healthy twist on the French classic, the cassoulet. It takes a bit more time than my normal cooking attention span, but it’s well worth it for the amount of leftovers you’ll have for the week. Soaking the beans ahead of time can seem like a pain, but it’s well worth it for flavor and nutritional benefits. So plan ahead with this one!

You may of course add the traditional rich meat or bacon & potatoes to this recipe, but it’s really pretty good vegetarian style, and much less expensive. You can always add those items later in the week.

Ingredients:

4 cups dried cannellini or white navy beans (or canned if you’re short on time)

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

1 piece of fresh fennel for the fronds (finger looking parts)( save the fennel bulb for later), chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cups clean vegetable or chicken stock

Fresh thyme (or dried)

Almond meal or almond flour {gluten-free version} or homemade breadcrumbs from day old artisan bread.

Directions:

AHEAD: Add 4 cups dried beans to a large pot of water (so the water fully covers the beans + 1 inch extra). Add a splash of apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon. SOAK FOR 6-8 HOURS*

*Why? Soaking your beans (and grains) is the only way to make them fully nutritional and easier to digest. Without it, we end up ingesting the tough layer of acid around each bean, called phytic acid. This causes gas and bloating immediately for some, but is also very damaging and inflammatory on the intestinal wall over time and can cause a few digestive problems. So set and forget- you can soak a huge pot the night before you’re ready to cook, or in the morning for dinner that night.

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Rinse and drain the soaked beans  through a colander. Rinse well. Re-measure beans, and add them back to the soup pot (rinse this out too). Add double the amount of liquid (veggie stock or water or a combo) to beans, so approx 8 cups of water/stock to 4 cups beans.

3. Cover pot with a lid, bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover and cook for approx 30 mins.  Keep checking and testing to see when they’re done (easy to bite into).

4. Begin chopping your veggies:

4. After the beans have been cooking for 15 minutes, add chopped onion, celery, fennel and carrots to the pot. Cover and resume cooking.

5. When beans are done cooking, drain everything through a colander, keeping approx 1 cup of broth in the pot.

6. Add beans and veggies to a greased glass baking dish:

7. Pour your reserved veggie stock over top top. Season with sea salt and pepper, and add fresh sprinkles of thyme. Sprinkle almond flour/almond meal or homemade croutons over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 15 mins. Remove foil and broil on high until the “crust” begins to brown:

Serve hot with a side salad, or add on top of a bed of spinach so the leaves wilts just slightly. A few grates of parmesan or raw cheddar cheese make this dish decadent and warm– and perfect for a chilly Fall or winter evening. Reheat later in the week with brown rice or quinoa, or add broth to make it a soup. Great for lunch the next day as well!