Cooked cassoulet in a brown ceramic dish (Mic Fleming)
From the Southwest of France, cassoulet is one of the world’s great comfort dishes. Known by the French as a synonym for happiness, it has been enjoyed since the 12th century. Just as every American is expected to have an opinion about sports, the French are all expected to have opinions about food, especially for this iconic dish.
I once traveled from Carcassonne westward through small villages, each bragging how many decades their cassoulet pots had been on the stove. And as I learned from my “field research,” each village claims origin and has fighting opinions of the proper mix of ingredients. Lamb? Crust or no crust, tomatoes or just a whisper of sun-dried paste? The arguments are endless. Here’s my version.
Although cassoulet takes time and patience to gather and prepare the ingredients, it is very forgiving. For cooks, the “making” is a labor of love. The result is a carnivore’s wildest dream of pork and beans come true.
1 pound of white beans (see notes)
Bouquet garni (herbs tied together or wrapped in cheese cloth):
1 bay leaf, 2 sprigs of thyme, 3 sprigs of rosemary, 8 whole black pepper corns
8 oz slab smoked bacon or pancetta, sliced bacon or pancetta cubes are ok.
1 tbs neutral oil
1/4 cup of duck fat
4 Toulouse garlic sausages (see notes for alternatives if not available)
2-4 duck legs confit
1 pound of pork sausage links
1 pound of pork loin roast
1 pound of lamb shoulder cut into 1” cubes (optional)
2 yellow onions, one peeled, studded with a clove, the other peeled and sliced
2 carrots, peeled
Fine salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 cloves of garlic (to taste) minced
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
1 cup of unseasoned breadcrumbs or panko
Cassoulet ingredients in ceramic pot with silver spoon (Mic Fleming)
Serves six. Plan for two days if you soak your beans.
Prepare beans by your preferred method.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
Place the beans in a large oven-proof casserole with the bouquet garni, bacon, carrots and the studded onion. Add water over the top by one inch. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 90 minutes. Taste for creaminess, then drain the beans reserving the liquid. Discard the herbs, onion and carrots and save the beans and bacon in a bowl.
Meanwhile, roast the pork loin in the oven for 45 minutes and/or 145°F reads on your meat thermometer; then, remove and cut into ¼ inch slices.
If using lamb, heat the neutral oil in the casserole over medium-high heat and brown the chunks on all sides. Stir in 1 tbs of the sundried tomato paste to coat all over. Season with salt and pepper, add a cup of water and simmer until tender.
Scrape off and retain the fat from the duck legs and gently fry them in a skillet. (Note canned confit is already cooked.) Next fry the sausages in the duck fat until crisp and golden. When cool, cut the sausages into 1 inch slices and strip the meat from the duck in large pieces discarding the bones. Keep warm in a covered bowl.
Assemble the dish: Over low heat on the stove melt 3 tbs of duck fat in the casserole. Add the sliced onions and garlic, gently sautéing until golden. Add the tomatoes, the beans and the meat. Pour in the reserved bean water and stir to mix.
Fry the breadcrumbs in a tbs of the duck fat and then layer a half cup over the cassoulet.
Bake in the oven uncovered for 45 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. Gently turn over the crust and spread on the rest of the breadcrumbs, lightly drizzle with duck fat and bake another 45 minutes until browned.
Serve hot from the casserole.
The only side might be a green salad. If you like wine, red Corbières and Minervois are traditional.
Bon appétit!
Beans: White beans form the base. Tarbais are the most authentic; however, coco, cannellini and Great Northerns work well. Follow your own method for prepping them. Simply taste as you go to make sure they are creamy, not mushy or hard.
Duck confit: Some cooks make their own, but I always buy a can online, which has the advantage of being packed in duck fat, used in the recipe and for other yummy uses like fried potatoes.
Sausages: Any pork-garlic sausage works. Toulouse are the best, but chorizo or Kielbasa poached a little to quiet it down are excellent substitutes. Regular breakfast sausages are a nice addition.
Pork: You’ll want any combo of pork rind, ham hock, slab bacon or pancetta to flavor the beans, and cubed or sliced shoulder, shank or even better, ribs to add later. Slices of pork loin are a special added treat.
Cooked cassoulet in a brown ceramic dish (Mic Fleming)
Mic Fleming is a volunteer contributor living in the rugged Mani of Greece. Among other stations during his career in the Army, he served two tours in Germany. In later retirement, he served as an instructor in a VA hospital Healthy Teaching Kitchen.
Editor’s Note: This article was written by a member of the local military community, not an employee of Stars and Stripes. Neither the organization nor the content is being represented by Stars and Stripes or the Department of Defense.
