Comforting French casseroles
One pot dishes are always popular, particularly during winter. We originally planned to offer both a traditional choucroute garnie recipe, and a traditional cassoulet recipe. However, since neither of these dishes can be thought of as healthful foods, we decided to use our favorite choucroute recipe, but substitute an Eating Well version of cassoulet that incorporates chicken thighs and turkey sausage - significantly lowering the fat content. Briefly, cassoulet is a casserole of white beans, various meats, frequently including pork, vegetables, and herbs, that is slowly simmered or baked in a slow oven.
Choucroute, or pickled cabbage is the star of many recipes in the Alsace region of France, a narrow ribbon of land that stretches from the Swiss border in the south up to the German border north of Strasbourg. We first encountered the Alsatian dish, choucroute aux poissons in a Strasbourg restaurant a number of years ago. Although the combination of sauerkraut and fish filets sounds a bit odd, when cooked using this method, the combination is delicious. Today's recipe is the more commonly encountered version of chourcroute garnie containing pork along with the sauerkraut.
