Being French, this wealthy, leguminous casserole passes as “a voluptuous monument to rustic custom”, slightly than being relegated, like our personal pease pudding and ham, to the faintly dismissive class of “consolation meals”. In reality, nevertheless, it’s each: soothingly starchy and deliciously savoury. My tackle this basic dish makes no declare to be the one true Carcassone, Castelnaudary or Toulouse cassoulet, however it’s price your time.
Soak 8 hr+
Prep 15 min
Cook dinner 4 hr 15 min
Serves 6-8
800g dried haricot beans
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 head of garlic, left entire and unpeeled, plus 4 peeled garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 recent thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1kg bone-in pork stomach, or lamb breast
2 confit duck legs, plus their fats
4 garlicky Toulouse sausages
Salt and black pepper
300ml white wine
120g dried breadcrumbs
1 Soak the dried beans
Haricot are preferable right here, and you will get some pretty heirloom French varieties on-line, but when want be dried cannellini or different white beans will do. Put the beans in a big, ovenproof pot, cowl with chilly water and soak for not less than eight hours; I’m afraid that is one recipe the place tinned shortcuts simply received’t minimize the mustard.
2 A word on the meat
In case you don’t eat pork, then substitute lamb breast for the pork stomach and sausages as applicable; ideally, although, use one thing that’s comparatively fatty and mildly spiced (there’s a decent-looking fast vegetarian recipe on the Gourmand journal web site to which you might add meat-free sausages, for instance). Toulouse sausages and confit duck are each simply present in giant supermarkets, delis and on-line; Pipers Farm sells free-range confit duck.
3 Cook dinner the soaked beans and meat
Drain the soaked beans and return them to the pot. Pour in chilly water to cowl by about 3cm, then add the halved onion, garlic head, herbs and pork stomach. Carry to a boil (you could at this stage must take away some water, however prime it up throughout cooking). Cowl and simmer for about two hours, till the beans are simply tender.
4 Fry the duck and sausages
In the meantime, soften a number of the fats from the duck confit in a frying pan on a medium-high warmth, then fry the duck and sausages individually till the duck pores and skin is crisp and each are golden throughout.
Switch the duck and sausages to a plate and put aside the frying pan and the remainder of the duck fats, each of which might be used to make the topping later. As soon as cooled, minimize the sausages into giant chunks and strip beneficiant items of the meat off the duck legs.
5 Drain the beans
As soon as the beans are cooked by way of, however nonetheless agency and holding their form, scoop out the pork stomach and minimize it into bite-size items; discard any bones, in addition to the onion halves and herbs, however not the garlic.
Drain the beans right into a heatproof bowl, retaining the liquid individually; hold the pot they have been cooked in.
6 Mash the garlic and duck fats
Squeeze the cooked garlic cloves out of their skins and right into a bowl, add 4 tablespoons of the reserved duck fats and the remaining 4 peeled and chopped garlic cloves, and mash to a paste.
Warmth the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/fuel 3 (you’ll be able to prepare dinner this on a low warmth on the hob, for those who choose, nevertheless it’ll brown higher and be simpler to take care of within the oven).
7 Construct the cassoulet
Grease the bottom of the pot with somewhat of the garlicky duck fats combine, then tip within the beans, meats and all however a tablespoon of the remaining garlicky duck fats combine, plus any jelly from the confit jar or tin.
Frivolously season and blend nicely, then pour within the reserved bean cooking liquid and the wine; if there’s not sufficient liquid to cowl the beans, prime up with somewhat water.
8 Prime with breadcrumbs, then bake
Fry the breadcrumbs briefly within the reserved tablespoon of duck fats, simply to coat, then scatter a skinny layer excessive of the cassoulet (don’t use all of them).
Bake uncovered for about two hours, protecting a beady eye on the pot: as soon as a crust has shaped, stir this into the bean combine, prime with extra fried breadcrumbs, and bake till you find yourself with a thick, golden topping.
9 Cool somewhat, then serve
Depart to chill to heat earlier than serving, ideally with a inexperienced salad to comply with (and even, although very untraditionally, alongside). Notice you could make the cassoulet a few days forward of time and reheat it in a low oven, topping up the liquid, if required. It additionally freezes nicely, so it’s price making it on this amount, even for those who’re serving a smaller variety of folks.
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