This is a good one. A cassoulet, by definition, is a stew made of meat and beans. I’d call this a pretty hearty and delicious stew. Started off with thawing out a package of pork loins I had in the freezer. There were 6 small pieces with just a bit of fat trimmings around the edge.

I stopped by the market to pick up some fresh produce. Leeks, zucchini, potatoes, kale, and bell peppers. First step was to slice up the leeks and saute them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, some chopped red onions, and a lot of seasoning.

The seasoning mix included ginger, Cavenders, seasoning salt, and a roasted garlic and pepper blend. To be honest, I forgot the minced garlic but you’d never miss it from the dish because of this roasted garlic and pepper mix.

I then added some sliced zucchini and cubed the small potatoes with the skin in tact. I added both the the pan and continued to stir.

I added a little water and then I added perhaps my favorite part. I cubed some old fashioned ham and added it to the vegetables to melt in some fatty flavor.

My pan was already looking beautiful. I covered the lid and put the heat on medium-low so I could focus on the next step.

In a separate pan, I quickly seared the pork loins to cook them through. The goal was to get them to just start browning, then I could cut them up into bite-size pieces. While the pork cooking, I continued with the veggies for the cassoulet.

I chopped up some purple kale and some orange and yellow bell peppers. You can use bell peppers of any color, but I wanted to add a little brightness to the cassoulet. I added both to the cassoulet, stirred, and covered the pan again.

While the pork was still cooking, I also added some black beans and cannelini beans which I only learned today are also called white kidney beans. Who knew?

Last step was to add in the cooked pork and stir up the cassoulet, let it sit for a while to continue to infuse all the flavors.

It took less than an hour, and the most effort was just the prep work of chopping up the vegetables and searing the pork. Otherwise, cooking up a cassoulet is so simple yet it produces a hearty meal with complex flavors. With the exception of a touch of olive oil and the canned beans (because I’m too lazy to cook dried beans), everything in this dish is fresh and healthy.

Total cook time, 45 min plus 15 min prep time.

12 oz pork loin
1 cup leeks
1/4 cup red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon all purpose greek seasoning
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon roasted garlic and pepper mix
1 cup zucchini
4 oz ham
4 large potatoes
2 bell pepper
1 cup kale
420 g beans

Makes 6 servings.

Calories, approx 430 per serving.