Pork Cassoulet

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon cut into 2-inch pieces (slab is best)
• 2  bay leaves 
• 1 cup breadcrumbs 
• 14 ounce canned tomatoes diced with their juice canned
• 28 ounce beans white drained and rinsed canned
• 0.5 medium carrots peeled chopped
• 1 large stalk celery chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth 
• 6 servings pepper black freshly ground to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 medium onion peeled chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
• 2 pounds boston butt pork shoulder 1-inch-thick country-style cut into slices)
• 2 sprigs thyme leaves fresh whole
• 1 cup wine 
• 2  garlic clove whole minced

Equipment

• bowl
• oven
• pot
• aluminum foil
• stove

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place the spareribs in a heavy pot with half the onion, half the minced garlic, and the thyme sprigs.
3. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
4. Remove the ribs; set aside.
5. In the same pot, over medium heat, brown the bacon.
6. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat and add the celery, carrot, salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and the remaining onion and garlic (minced and whole) and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Add the broth, wine, tomatoes, bay leaves, and beans. Bring to a simmer, then add the cooked ribs.
8. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the olive oil, bread crumbs, and parsley.
9. Sprinkle the bread-crumb mixture over the cassoulet and bake for 1 hour, uncovered, occasionally pressing the bread crumbs into the cassoulet to thicken it.
10. Let cool and serve.
11. TIP
12. To get a jump start on a weeknight dinner, complete steps 1 to 7 of the cassoulet recipe on Sunday and store, covered, on the stove for a day or in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then simply add the bread-crumb mixture and bake for 1 hour.