Forty-Minute Cassoulet

Forty-Minute Cassoulet
4 cups chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are fine)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
4 cups white beans, nearly fully cooked, drained if canned
1 cup stock, dry red wine, bean-cooking liquid or water
Salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 pound Italian sausage, preferably in one piece
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 boned duck breast
Combine the tomatoes and garlic in a large saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Bring to a boil and add the beans. Bring to a boil again, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat so the mixture bubbles regularly but not furiously. Cook for about 20 minutes, adding the liquid when the mixture becomes thick. Add the salt and cayenne when the beans are tender and flavorful.
Meanwhile, put the sausage in a skillet and turn the heat to medium-high; brown on both sides, turning only once or twice. Add the sausage to the tomato-bean mixture, along with the pork. Raise the heat a bit if necessary to keep a simmer going. Stir the beans occasionally so the pork chunks cook evenly; they'll finish cooking in the time it takes to prepare the duck.
Cut a 1/2-inch crosshatch pattern in the skin side of the duck breast, right down to the fat layer. Put the breast in the same skillet in which you cooked the sausage, skin side down, and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook until nicely browned, pouring any rendered duck fat and juices into the bean mixture. Turn the duck and brown the meat side, then crisp up the skin side again for a minute or so, once more pouring any juice into the beans. The total cooking time for the breast will be 6-8 minutes. When it is done, add the breast to the beans.
To serve, carve the sausage and duck breast into serving pieces, and put some on each of four to six plates. Top with beans and pork.
Serves four to six.
Keys to success: Unless you have a lot of time, start with frozen beans, which are now being sold in most supermarkets. If you can't find frozen beans, just use canned beans, but drain and rinse them first.
Although the pork tenderloin need not be browned before further cooking, the sausage benefits from a quick browning, which is definitely worth the 5-minute effort.
If you can get duck confit, just brown it lightly on both sides, adding both it and its fat to the stew in place of the duck breast.
With minimal effort: Start with dried beans, cooked with a few sprigs of fresh thyme, 1/2 head of garlic, and a piece of salt pork or bacon. Cook the garlic in a little duck fat - don't let it brown - before adding the tomatoes and beans. Finish the dish by toasting some bread crumbs, seasoned with salt and pepper, in the fat remaining from browning the duck. Sprinkle these on top of the stew, then run it under the broiler to brown just before serving.
Wine suggestions: Rough, inexpensive red from the south of France or elsewhere.
Nutrition values per serving: 655 calories, 37 g fat, 38 g carbohydrates, 14 g fiber, 42 g protein, 125 mg cholesterol, 1,011 mg sodium.
"The Minimalist Cooks Dinner" by Mark Bitman (2001 Broadway, $26)