Cassoulet

This Easter, we decided to have a small gathering at our house. Most of our family was going a little too far for us to want to drive with the kids. Instead, we stayed home with only my parents coming over for dinner. Since the group was small, we decided to branch out on the usual Easter meal. Trying to come up with a good dinner choice is always a little tricky for me, but luckily we are all somewhat adventurous (sort of - my parents only eat poultry and seafood). My wife and I decided on a cassoulet - with some substitutions. I've made it once before, but that time I used real (pork) bacon and pork sausages. With the restrictions on our protein choices, I made a few changes in the recipe. Although I'm sure the original one was richer in some way (bacon always makes things taste better), my pork-less version ended up much better than I expected. Warm, rich and surprisingly "meaty," this was a great meal.

Recipe for Cassoulet
1 lb duck breast - split into about 6 pieces (skin on)
1 lb garlic chicken sausages
8 ounces turkey bacon
2 cans cannelloni beans
14 ounce can of chopped/diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2-3 bay leaves
2 cups chicken stock
Bread crumbs (plain and panko)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt / pepper

Heat the oven to 325 F.
Heat the olive oil in a cassole if you have one (I used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven). Cut the bacon into strips and brown. Remove and reserve. Brown the duck and reserve. Cut the sausages into smaller pieces (3-4 per link) and brown and reserve.
Cook the onion and the garlic in the oil/fat until starting to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 1 minute.
Add beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and stir. Add all meat back into the pot and stir.
Pour in enough chicken stock to just reach the top of the contents in the pot.
Bring to a boil, then cover tightly and cook in the oven for 1 hour.
After one hour, uncover and cover pot contents with the breadcrumbs (both kinds) so that none of the contents are visible. Place back in the oven uncovered and cook for another 40 minutes.