Michelle prepared a Vegetarian Bean and Apple Cassoulet for the main course for the South Arm Older Adults Cooking Club.

Original cassoulet is loaded with meat. This is a vegetarian version where protein is substituted with white beans. This dish can be made in less than half an hour if you use canned beans, but Michelle prefers the texture of the cooked, dried beans with some planing ahead as the dried beans will cook faster after soaking in boiling water for overnight.

Serve with crostini or slices of baguette alongside.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dried beans (Zuni or other white beans) or 3 canned white beans, drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 4 sprigs thyme, stripped from stem or 1 teaspoon dried one
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup apple cider or unsweetened apple juice
• optional: cooked bacon (veggie or pork for the carnivores!)

Source: mintgreenapron.blogspot.com

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