Gratin de Haricots au Porc (p. 436)

This is a recipe you need to set aside a little time for -- I had hoped to make it yesterday before heading in to work around noon but got started too late to make it happen; you need to set aside about 2 hours for all the cooking.

That said, this is a pretty easy recipe. It is, as the recipe states, a "simple Cassoulet."

In a saucepan, cook pre-soaked beans with onions, parsley, garlic, a bay leaf, and olive oil in boiling water. Let this simmer for about 40 minutes. It smells ridiculously amazing. I'm really not sure what accounted for the smell, probably a mixture of the garlic and onion, but whatever it was, I want to capture it in a perfume bottle and wear it around town. Not really, but this smelled good.

At the same time, roast pork (the recipe calls for one large piece to be used, but I had two smaller pieces so I took Tim Gunn's advice and made it work) in the oven. To prep the pork, given it a little bath in olive oil and rub in salt and pepper. Cut some slits in the meat and stick chopped garlic in. Set this on a bed of thinly sliced onions, pour white wine on top, and roast for about 40 minutes. You're supposed to baste every ten minutes, but mine really didn't create the juices to be able to do that, perhaps because I halved the recipe.

The cassoulet is assembled by combining the drained beans with the onions and pork (now cut into small pieces.) Deglaze the roasting pan with more wine and add the brown juices from the pan into the dish. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love deglazing pans? Not only do you get the delicious flavors, but it also cuts down cleaning time!)

Stir in some of the reserved bean-cooking-juices, sprinkle on some bread crumbs, and pop it in the oven. After about half an hour, stir the bread crumbs into the top layer of beans and add more bread crumbs on top.

When it comes out of the oven it should have a sort of crust on top, and the majority of the liquid should be absorbed.

And then serve.

This was really good! The pork was juicy and I really liked the crisp topping. I wouldn't make this again (because it took so long) but I would definitely eat it again.

Also, we ate this with a lovely Greek wine that was a birthday present from a friend -- thanks, Angie!

CSA onion -- $.79

wine -- $2.50 (The price of one Target wine juice box, which leaves enough left over for a full glass of wine for one. Coincidence?)

pork -- $1.25

bay leaf -- $1.99 (I just used one from the package. Does anyone know how long they can last in the fridge?)

Total Cost of Gratin de Haricots au Pork: $6.53