Spicy Lamb and White Bean Chili

Chili never wins any beauty contests. This week I was still attracted to this recipe from the New York Times. It's easy to find mince lamb in England and I do love beans--in this instance, I used a mixture of butter, haricot, and cannellini beans. Poblano peppers, on the other hand, are not something you can find even in the most exotic supermarket in the UK. I modified the peppers in the recipe to include a bell pepper (to replace the poblano), a green chilli, and a small piece of Scotch bonnet (chopped as tiny as you dare to imagine.)

I also believe that good chili has depth of flavour. To bring that out, I added 2 Tbsp of white wine vinegar at the beginning and the juice of half a lime just before serving. The importance of the lime, coriander, and yogurt for this recipe cannot be overstated. The yogurt in particular does not diminish the spice so much as spread it out evenly along your palate.

As for preparation, I made mine a day in advance and refrigerated it in my dutch oven until I was ready to serve it. Chili only gets better the longer the ingredients get to know each other.

sausage-sage cassoulet

for the stew:
2 tbs olive oil
1 lb sausage (we used sage turkey sausage)
3 leeks, chopped in small pieces
4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 granny smith apple, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tbs rosemary
4 tbs sage

1 can lima beans, drained
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can butter beans, drained
(save one cup of liquid from the beans for chicken bouillon)
1 can diced tomatoes
3 tbs tomato paste
dash of ground cloves

for the crust:
2 demi-baguettes of day-old french bread
1/8 cup olive oil
8 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded, then chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Use an oven/stovetop pan. We used Ben's new 2-quart oval Le Creusset dutch oven, and there was just enough room for the dish (barely!) when all the ingredients were added.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
1. Cook sausages in 2 tbs olive oil until cooked almost through.
2. Put sausages on a plate and cut into bite-sized rounds.
3. Use liquid from cooking sausages to sautee leeks and garlic until soft.
4. Add chopped apple, rosemary, sage, and wine, and cook until reduced, about 5 minutes.
5. Add beans, tomatoes and tomato paste, chicken stock, cloves, and mix in the sausage.
6. Stir well, cover, and bake for 30-40 minutes.

While the stew is cooking,

1. Cut french bread into pieces about the size of strawberries.
2. Heat 1/8 cup olive oil in a frying pan and sautee bread for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
3. When the bread is cool(ish), mix into the parsley and tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper, and save for the topping.

Take the cassoulet out of the oven.

1. Add toast topping, spreading evenly over the surface.
2. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for about 10-20 minutes.


Serve with a Corsendonk or a Gouden Carolus (as cold as possible).