Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

Source: SweetSugarBean.com

When I saw this photo, it was love at first sight. Sweet Sugar Bean's Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet (that's a mouthful), is like the ultimate in comfort food for me. I was waiting for the perfect occasion to make this (asap) and today, it came. We're going to my mom's for dinner and since her meal involves tongue and heart and other organs, I thought I'd bring this for those of us who don't indulge in organ stew. That sounds gross. It's really not though. It's actually a very traditional Portuguese dish. I digress. I don't have fresh tomatoes, so I'm using stewed tomatoes, which I really didn't want to do, but I want to eat this NOW!

Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet (Recipe from: Sweet Sugar Bean)
2 pints of cherry tomatoes
4-6 hot Italian sausages OR Chorizo sausages
4 large garlic cloves, smashed
1 onion, cut into wedges
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
coarse salt and pepper
few sprigs fresh thyme OR rosemary
3 cups cooked white navy beans or white kidney beans OR 1 19 oz can (540ml) of white beans, rinsed and drained well
chicken broth or white wine(optional)

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 *F.
Scatter tomatoes over bottom of dish (reserve about 1/2 cup to add later).  Add garlic, onion and sausages over top.  Drizzle with balsamic and olive oil.  Toss on thyme and sprinkle with S & P.  Bake about 25-30 minutes, for sausages to be golden and tomatoes start to burst.  Remove from oven and stir in beans and reserved 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes.  If you'd like a bit more sauce with your beans, add a glug or white wine or chicken stock.   Return to oven and bake 20 minutes longer or until beans are cooked through.  Serve with bread and butter for dunking; green salad on the side.  Makes enough for 4.  Recipe adapted from Dinner with Julie via Pam Anderson and the Merry Gourmet