Apologies for the photo, that is Wikimedia’s not mine.

If Jamie Oliver can do Kinda so can I. Although to be fair, he has earned the right and I haven’t.  This recipe evolved from having some stray meat items, an Instant Pot and a desire to make something quick and wholesome. This is a convergence of several recipes, and I am sure the French who take three days to make a cassoulet would be horrified. It would be disingenuous to say I cared. Here’s what we had: leftovers from a roast duck, leftovers from a gammon and a couple of sausages. The rest are store cupboard items. Serves 2 but easily scaled.

  • 200g canellini beans

Soak 8 hours or Instant Pot equivalent (20 mins pressure)

  • Half an onion, chopped
  • One carrot, cubed small
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Dash of oil

Soften in the Instant Pot on Saute. Meanwhile take a frying pan and brown

  • 2 sausages

Add to the Instant Pot with:

  • 2 cooked duck legs
  • Cubed gammon, we had the equivalent of a pork steak sized bit
  • 1 tbs tomato puree
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • drained soaked beans
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme chopped, or a pinch of dried
  • 1 bay leaf

Add to the Instant Pot. Cook 20 mins. You could serve at this point but it may look a bit watery. To make it amazing, turn the whole lot into a stove-top pan and bubble away to reduce the liquid and intensify flavours. Adjust the seasoning – it probably won’t need much adjusting, a bit of pepper maybe.

To make it slightly more authentic top with breadcrumbs and brown under a grill but that is a bit of a faff, skip that and serve with fresh crusty bread.

If your meat supply doesn’t match the above list, try

  • Cooked chicken legs instead of duck
  • Bacon lardons instead of gammon chunks but make them meaty. You could even go for small chunks of pork belly, browned
  • Any variation of sausage – traditional British or smoked or Continental but not too preserved – steer away from salami

This recipe is awesome. Try it.