Chef John's Quick Cassoulet

Recipe View In a large, cold oven-safe skillet, add bacon pieces. Place over medium heat and cook until almost crisp, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer bacon to a bowl, reserving the rendered grease in the pan.

Recipe View Add sausage slices to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned. Add cubed chicken thighs and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until browned on all sides. Remove the meats and add to the bowl with bacon. Discard all but about 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat from the pan.

Recipe View Add diced onion to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Recipe View In a small bowl, mash about 1/4 of the cannellini beans with a fork. Add all the beans, mashed and whole, to the skillet with the onions and broth.

Recipe View Stir in cayenne pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Add the reserved meats (bacon, sausage, and chicken) back to the skillet. Pour in the remaining cup of chicken broth, or more if needed, to just cover the ingredients. Bring to a simmer.

Recipe View In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and melted butter. Mix well until the bread crumbs are evenly coated.

Recipe View Preheat your oven's broiler and position the oven rack about 7 inches from the heat source.

Recipe View Sprinkle half of the bread crumb mixture evenly over the cassoulet in the skillet. Place the skillet under the broiler and cook until the bread crumbs are golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes.

Recipe View Remove the skillet from the broiler and gently press the browned bread crumbs down into the cassoulet. Top with the remaining bread crumb mixture. Return the skillet to the broiler and continue broiling for another 5 minutes, or until the topping is deeply golden brown and bubbling.

Recipe View Turn off the broiler and leave the cassoulet in the warm oven for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!