French cassoulet with beans, bacon and sausage

French cassoulet with a rustic South African heritage twist. Photo by Adobe Stock Images

French cassoulet with a rustic South African heritage twist

French cassoulet is rich, rustic and absolutely incredible if you enjoy a hearty casserole. Ours has a South African boerewors twist.

French cassoulet with beans, bacon and sausage

French cassoulet with a rustic South African heritage twist. Photo by Adobe Stock Images

We love cooking for our families and sometimes, you have bits and bobs and still want to create something delicious. Casseroles are a great way to get loads of flavour, nutrients and enjoyment out of various ingredients. French cassoulet is just a french casserole but often made with various beans, pork products and maybe some beef. Our version is made with boerewors, the iconic South African sausage for that local twist.

French cassoulet with boerewors tips

This cassoulet recipe has so many variations, so the recipe below is a guide for your creativity and what you have in the pantry. Some beans need some extra pealing and cooking, so make sure they’re prepared correctly. This dish has loads of protein from meat and beans with a good amount of fat from salami and the bacon, so be aware that it is quite rich. Serve with rice and a side salad if you feel that you need to freshen it up a little bit.

You can even make a tripe version of this dish if that’s your taste.

French cassoulet is rich, rustic and absolutely incredible if you enjoy a hearty casserole. Ours has a South African boerewors twist.

French cassoulet recipe

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Recipe by Gary Dunn Course: MainCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy
Prep time

20

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

10

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

A recipe with a vast amount of tastes and variations. Ingredients vary and you can choose the amounts depending on availability, taste and amount of guests.

Ingredients

  • spring onions, with as much of the green leaves as possible

  • garlic

  • streaky bacon, cut into small pieces

  • 1 can 1 whole tomatoes

  • 1 can 1 butter beans

  • haricot beans, soaked and cooked (or any other beans you like)

  • salami, thinly sliced

  • boerewors or any sausage you enjoy

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • thyme

  • 1 cup 1 red or white wine

Method

  • Cook the bacon with some olive oil and butter before removing and setting aside. Then, cook the onions in the bacon fat.
  • Add the whole tin of tomatoes and break them in the pan.
  • Add the beans, salami, boerewors and season well.
  • Simmer for at least 30 minutes to an hour before serving with rice.

Notes

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Do you want to make more casserole recipes to enjoy with your friends and family? Have a look at our excellent recipe suggestions for you to try. There are many more old-school recipes like this one. They are published in the St. Andrews Preparatory School, Prep 100 Recipe Book.

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