Vegetarian Cassoulet

What is the result of searching "vegetarian" in foodgawker? You get cassoulet! What is cassoulet? I have no idea. After making it I concluded it was essentially vegetable soup with bread crumbs on top. But after looking it up it is apparently a slow-cooked French stew made with beans and usually meat. Well that doesn't sound that great to me, but what I ended up making (which differed quite a bit from the recipe I found) was so good. Perfect for warming you up in the upcoming cold weather.

This recipe was the first time I used leeks, I was so perplexed, they are just so big... but they ended up tasting great. Just not sure what to do with the green part of them.

Ingredients:
For Cassoulet:
- 2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. parsley
- 1 tbsp. oregano
- 1 tbsp. basil
- 2 cans of beans (I used one can of kidney beans and 1 can of "bean medley"), rinsed and drained
- 1 can diced tomatoes and their juices
- 3 cups vegetable broth
For Garlic Crumbs: (these are approximate, I added ingredients until I had the right taste)
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. parsely

Directions:
1. Cook leeks, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, parsley, basil and oregano in oil in a large pot over medium heat for about 15 minutes.

2. Stir in beans, tomatoes and stock, then simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. While the cassoulet cooks, make the garlic crumbs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss ingredients together until crumbs are well coated. Spread on an aluminum foil lined baking pan and cook for 10 minutes. Make sure you watch them, my oven gets a bit too hot so mine were done in less than 7.

4. Once the carrots are cooked through, carefully mash some of the beans in the (probably very hot) pot with a potato masher or spoon to thicken broth. Before serving sprinkle with garlic crumbs.

So delicious and hearty. Yummm.