Sarah Graham’s slow-cooked chicken and chorizo cassoulet with thyme and gruyère dumplings Recipe

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Sarah Graham’s slow-cooked chicken and chorizo cassoulet with thyme and gruyère dumplings

For the cassoulet (French for casserole)

10-12 chicken sausages

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3-4 sprigs fresh or (or 1 tsp dried) thyme

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

3 medium red onions

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 deseeded, chopped fresh chilli or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

About 225g sliced chorizo

400g can of cannellini beans

300ml cider

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

For the thyme & gruyère dumplings

100g (about 2/3 cup) self-raising flour

50g soft butter

1 cup grated gruyère (or parmesan or cheddar)

2-3 Tbsp natural yoghurt

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Season the chicken sausages with salt, pepper and the thyme. Heat an ovenproof pot on the stove and add the olive oil and butter. When the butter starts to foam, brown the chicken sausages for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.
Cut the onions into sixths and add them to the pot and fry for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a further 2 minutes. Then add the chorizo and fry for 3-5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the stove, add the chicken sausages back in on top of the onions and chorizo, pour in the drained cannellini beans and cider, put on the lid and place in the oven for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Mix the flour and butter in a mixer or food processor until the texture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the remaining ingredients and knead into a soft dough. If the dough is too wet, add in a little more flour – it should not stick to your hands excessively. Break off bits of dough and roll into palm-sized balls.
After 40 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven and gently place the dumplings on top of the chicken mixture. Return the pot to the oven uncovered and bake for 6-10 minutes until the dumplings are puffy and golden. Sprinkle the fresh parsley over the top and serve on warmed plates.

Note: The whole dish can be made a few hours in advance and reheated under the grill just before serving.

Extracted with kind permission from smitten by Sarah Graham (published by Struik Lifestyle)