Cassoulet - European Recipe

Cassoulet

🌍 European, Languedoc, France Difficulty: ●●●○○

Legend holds cassoulet was born during the Hundred Years' War in Castelnaudary, made to feed besieged townspeople with whatever meat remained.

Ingredients

• 500 g dried white haricot beans, soaked overnight
• 400 g Toulouse sausage
• 300 g duck confit legs (2 pieces)
• 200 g pork belly, cubed
• 400 g canned tomatoes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 litre chicken or pork stock
• 2 bay leaves, thyme, parsley stalks (bouquet garni)
• 100 g breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp duck fat or lard
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Draining — Drain soaked beans; simmer in fresh water 1 hour until nearly tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Step 2 — In a large Dutch oven, brown pork belly in duck fat; remove. Brown sausages; remove.
3. Sautéing — Sauté onion and carrots until soft; add garlic and cook 1 minute.
4. Adding — Add tomatoes; cook 5 minutes.
5. Step 5 — Return meats to pot; add beans, stock, and bouquet garni.
6. Seasoning — Season well; bring to simmer.
7. Nestling — Nestle duck confit legs on top; tuck in sausages.
8. Sprinkling — Sprinkle breadcrumbs over surface.
9. Baking — Bake uncovered at 160°C (320°F) for 2 hours, pressing crust down into cassoulet twice during cooking to form new crust.
10. Serving — Serve directly from pot with crusty bread.

Tags: dried white haricot beans, toulouse sausage, duck confit legs, pork belly, canned tomatoes · Source: Observatory Recipe Research Kitchen