Simple Spicy Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

This simplified cassoulet recipe is easy, hearty and incredibly delicious. And while it may not qualify for laughably cheap, it's still pretty darn inexpensive. Enjoy!

Simple Spicy Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

Ingredients:
3-4 hot italian-style sausage links, cut in half
1 large onion, cut into smallish wedges
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
6 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
½ teaspoon ground thyme
A few shakes of hot red pepper flakes
A couple splashes of olive oil (maybe ⅛ of a cup in total)
A couple splashes of balsamic vinegar (a few Tablespoons, roughly)
Black pepper and salt (optional) to taste

2 14.5-ounce cans of white beans, drained and well-rinsed
A very generous 1/3 cup white wine

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425F (220C).

2) In a large oven-safe pan or casserole dish, place the diced tomatoes, onion wedges and garlic. Then add the sausages, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and add the ground thyme, salt and pepper.

3) Cook uncovered at 425F/220C for 25-30 minutes, or until the sausages are fully cooked. Add the beans and white wine, combine well, and then place back in the oven, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes. Serve with an optional side of brown rice.

Serves 5-6.

Recipe Notes:
1) This is a low-risk recipe with all sorts of tolerances. It doesn't matter how you arrange the various ingredients in the casserole dish (although I do recommend setting the sausages on top so they can roast nicely in the oven's heat). The ingredients and quantities are flexible. Heck, you don't even really have to sweat the cooking time all that much--five or so minutes in either direction won't matter much. All in all, this dish is nearly un-screwup-able.

2) Sausages: Feel free to go fancy here and use delicatessen or butcher-grade sausages if you wish, but we merely just used normal Italian-style spicy sausages available in our local grocery store. And they were phenomenal.

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