Vegetarian Cassoulet with Garlic Breadcrumbs [Dehydrated Backpacking meal]

One of the best parts of road trips through France is the food—hearty, rustic, and made for sharing. While my trips through French countryside towns are now less frequent than I’d prefer, the flavours of those adventures have a way of sneaking back into my kitchen, and into my trail meals. Meet this veggie cassoulet, a lighter, plant-based spin on the French classic featuring lots of aubergine, mushrooms, and beans stewed with herbs in a white wine sauce. When you chop the vegetables finely, this dish becomes a superb contender for a dehydrated backpacking meal. (As with all of my recipes, you can skip the dehydrating part and just enjoy the dish as an everyday meal!)

The magic with this dehydrated cassoulet is, for me, in the toppings (I do love my garnishes!). This recipe features garlicky, herby breadcrumbs that add crunch and depth to the warm goodness of the cassoulet. Top tip: make extra. These breadcrumbs are great sprinkled over soups, other stews, or even just a crunchy savoury snack.

Further reading:

• This dehydrated cassoulet is inspired by veggie recipes from thechroniclesofhome.com and epicurious.com, both great recipes in their own right!
• And if you like a good breadcrumb, check out my other recipe for backpacking soba noodles with miso and ginger breadcrumbs.
• Read my in-depth guide to making your own homemade dehydrated backing meals.

Vegetarian Mushroom and Aubergine Cassoulet

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Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Servings 6 servings

Calories 584 kcal

Ingredients

  

For the cassoulet:

• 3 leeks finely sliced
• 4 carrots diced
• 3 celery ribs diced
• 500 g mushrooms sliced
• 2 aubergines diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 parsley sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 cans cooked cannellini or haricot beans
• 1.5 cup white wine
• 1.5 cup vegetable stock

For the garlic crumbs:

• 4 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs from a baguette
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions

 

At home:

• Cook leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil with herb sprigs, bay leaf, cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 15 minutes.
• Add mushrooms and aubergine and continue to fry until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.
• Stir in beans, white wine, and vegetable stock. Summer for about 30 minutes, until all of the vegetables are super tender. Taste and add more seasoning if you’d like.
• Discard the herb sprigs and bay leaf and leave to cool. Spread the cassoulet onto dehydrator trays lined with nonstick sheets or parchment paper. Dehydrate at 63C / 145F for 8-10 hours until totally dry. Vac pac or store in baggies until ready to use.
• In the meantime, make the garlic crumbs. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C. Toss the breadcrumbs with the oil, garlic, salt, pepper and parsley. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until golden. Vac pac or store in baggies until ready to use (these crumbs are a handy way to add flavour and crunch to all sorts of recipes!).
  

On the trail:

• Put your cassoulet in a pot and add water to cover. Bring water to boil.
• Simmer the cassoulet for 5-10 minutes, until all of the beans and vegetables are soft. Add more water if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
• Serve topped with garlic breadcrumbs.

Keyword beans, legumes, vegan