Cassoulet
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 2 Hours
It is said that this dish comes from Languedoc, taking its name from a glazed earthenware pot “cassole”, narrow at the bottom and widemouthed at the top, from the town of Issel. This dish became special to me when I walked from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, across the Pyrenees. As the trekking was hard, finding a refuge with a cassoulet combined with a glass of wine was the perfect end to the day. This is my version of this dish.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 2 cooked duck legs
- 500 g Tarbais beans or cannellini beans soaked overnight
- 500 g pork belly skin removed, cut into 5 cm cubes
- 1 onion peeled & studded with 3 cloves
- 1 Bouquet garni
- 60 g duck fat
- 4 Toulouse style sausages
- 1 onion peeled & diced
- 2 carrots peeled & diced
- 2 garlic cloves peeled & diced
- 1 tbs tomato puree
Method
1 Strain the beans, wash, then add to a pot.
2 Cover with clean, cold water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Skin off impurities from the surface and bring to a simmer.
3 Add the Bouquet Garni and studded onion, then cook until the beans are soft.
4 Remove the onion and Bouquet garni then allow to cool in their liquid.
5 In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, melt the duck fat and brown the pork, duck legs, and sausages. Reserve them on a plate.
6 Add the celery, onion, and carrot, then cook without colour on a low heat.
7 Add the garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes, add to the beans, then season with salt and pepper.
8 Pour the beans into a casserole dish then add the sausages, pork, and duck legs. Cook for 45 minutes.
9 Cover with breadcrumbs and put into a pre-heated oven set at 180c. Cook until the breadcrumbs are golden-brown for 30 minutes.
