Vegetarian Cassoulet

This spring has been a little more fickle than others in my recent memory. We've had some sparkling blue sky days with temps in the low 80's and we've had plenty of cold, grey, rainy days like today. Tonight I wanted to have a nice big bowl of comfort food for dinner, but my fridge is packed with spring delights - so I went the route of a hearty stew made with light springy flavors and textures.
Springtime Vegetarian Cassoulet
Yield: 6 entree servings
Prep Time: 2 hours plus 3+ hours for bean soaking if you are using dried beans.
75 minutes with canned beans
Ingredients:
1.5 c. dried chick peas, rinsed, picked over and soaked for 3 or 1 14 oz can, drained and rinsed
4 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, on the smaller side, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped (same size as onion)
1 rib celery, chopped (same size as onion)
4 c. low sodium veggie stock, chicken stock or water
1 t. fresh thyme, minced or 1/2 t. dried
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 medium sized red potatoes, washed and diced to the size of a chick pea
1 large leek (white and light green parts only), rinsed, and chopped
8 large white mushrooms or 2-3 portobellos, rinsed and chopped into 2 inch chunks (they will shrink a lot in the oven)
1 c dry white wine or dry vermouth
2 c fresh asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
10 - 15 leaves of fresh basil, shredded
1/2 pt or so of grape or heirloom tomatoes, halved
S&P

Method:

1. Heat 2 T olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery, cooking until they have a little color - about 8-10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Add stock, chick peas, thyme, and bay, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender - 60-90 minutes. (10-20 min is fine if you are using canned beans)
3. In the mean time, heat oven to 400*. Toss potato and onion in remaining olive oil, spread in a single layer in a roasting pan or skillet, season with a small amount of salt & pepper and roast in the oven until lightly browned. Maybe 40 minutes. Add mushrooms, leeks and whole garlic cloves and roast another 10-20 minutes until garlic is golden and soft. (if you are using canned beans, start with this step, then go back to step 1)
4. Remove potato mixture from the oven. Using a spatula, transfer all to a plate. Place roasting pan on stove top (make sure its stove top safe!!) and deglaze the pan with the white wine. Reduce wine and bits until only a couple of tablespoons remain.
5. Add beans mixture and potato mixture to the roasting pan and bring to a simmer. The stew should not have a whole bunch of extra liquid like a soup, this is much closer to a loose casserole than a soup. Simmer on stove top until flavors come together and all veggies are tender - about 5-15 minutes.
6. Add the asparagus and tomatoes and simmer 2-5 minutes until just tender crisp. Stir in the basil and serve in warmed shallow bowls.

A nice grating of cheese over the top is a lovely way to finish off this dish. Serve with some fantastic bread or just some crispy lavosh.