Wild Rice and Bean Cassoulet

WILD RICE AND BEAN CASSOULET

Soak 2# bag of Cannellini beans overnight in water, drain and rinse.
Place beans in large stock pot, add 2 chopped onions, garlic, carrots and celery, 2 cans of chicken broth, 10 tablespoons of garlic peppercorn seasoning, 1 ½ quarts of water, bay leaves, thyme and tarragon.
Brown Italian sausage; add pan drippings to stock pot along with half of the sausage. Also add half the bacon and pan drippings to stock pot.
Bring stock pot’s ingredients to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, continue cooking remaining Italian sausage until done, set aside.
Remove stock pot from heat, remove bay leaves. Add remaining chicken broth, onions, sausage w/drippings, bacon and 2½ quarts of water,. Stir until thoroughly blended.
In the bottom of each hotel pan, pour one bag of Calico Blend.
Divide stock pot contents evenly between the two hotel pans. Stir rice and other ingredients until blended.
Cover and bake at 400 degrees until beans are soft and liquid is mostly absorbed, approximately 40-45 minutes.
Melt butter and add breadcrumbs. Cover each hotel pan with crumb mixture or spoon cassoulet into individual ramekins and top with crumb mixture. Broil until top is golden brown.
Garnish and serve. Makes approximately 72 ~ 1 cup servings.