Thyme-Scented White Bean Cassoulet

Ever since I bought my cooking light cookbook, this is one recipe I've wanted to make. I love white beans and thyme, so I thought the flavors in this would be good. I was right! I served this one night while we were watching hockey and had another friend over (note: a GUY) and the two of them ate this right up! The hubs even said, 'what is this white thing in here?' (they were the parsnips).  He loved them! Oh an neither of them really cared that it was vegetarian sausage!  I would say if you are a carnivore, this would be even better with real sausage. I could definitely tell that it was veggie sausage.  But in our efforts to strive for good health, eating meatless dishes every other week are good for ya.

All of the chunky vegetables and beans make this a hearty, heart-warming dish.  And since it makes use of your slow cooker, comes together so easily!  I sauteed the veggies in the morning, threw it all in the slow cooker and set it on high. 

I am disappointed that mine looks like sludge and not at all like the picture on myrecipes.com. However I will say that the recipe posted on myrecipes is different from the one in my cookbook.

Make it easy on yourself and just do it.

As of today's post, 9 people gave this an average rating of four out of five.

Recipe by Robin Robertson, Cooking Light, October 2004

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1 1/2  cups  chopped onion
• 1 1/2  cups  (1/2-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut carrot
• 1  cup  (1/2-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut parsnip
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 3  cups  cooked Great Northern beans
• 3/4  cup  vegetable broth
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1  bay leaf
• 1/4  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 2  links meatless Italian sausage (such as Boca), thawed and chopped
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, parsnip, and garlic; cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender.
Place in a 5-quart electric slow cooker. Add beans and next 6 ingredients (through bay leaf). Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.
Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and butter in a small bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Stir breadcrumb mixture and sausage into bean mixture; sprinkle with parsley.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 314 (29% from fat)

Fat: 10.2g (sat 3.7g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.7g)

Protein: 16.4g

Carbohydrate: 41.9g

Fiber: 11.6g

Cholesterol: 13mg

Iron: 3.6mg

Sodium: 777mg

Calcium: 177mg