Cassoulet
Languedoc bean and meat casserole: white beans cooked with sausage, confit duck, pork shoulder and bacon, baked under a breadcrumb crust that's broken back into the beans repeatedly to build layers. The slow-food showpiece of southwest France; needs a weekend, rewards it.
Overview
Dried haricot beans soak overnight, then simmer with bacon and aromatics. Pork shoulder and sausages brown separately. The lot layers in a casserole with confit duck legs, more stock, and a breadcrumb top that cooks into the surface as it bakes long and slow.
Ingredients
Beans
- 500 g dried haricot (or cannellini beans, soaked overnight)
- 200 g pork belly (or pancetta in one piece)
- 1 onion (whole, studded with 4 cloves)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 Bouquet Garni
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1 ½ litres chicken (or duck stock)
Meats
- 4 confit duck legs (jarred or homemade)
- 4 Toulouse sausages (or coarse pork sausages)
- 600 g boneless pork shoulder (cut into 4 cm cubes)
- 2 tablespoons duck fat (or olive oil)
Topping
- 100 g coarse breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Method
Stage 1 - Cook the beans
- Drain the soaked beans. Place in a large pan with the pork belly, clove-studded onion, garlic, bouquet garni and tomato purée.
- Cover with stock; bring to a simmer.
- Cook gently for 1 ½ hours until the beans are tender but still holding their shape.
- Remove the pork belly, cut into thick cubes; reserve. Discard the onion and bouquet garni.
Stage 2 - Brown the meats
- Heat the duck fat in a heavy frying pan.
- Brown the pork shoulder cubes deeply on all sides; set aside.
- Brown the sausages until coloured but not cooked through; cut into thirds.
- Briefly sear the confit duck legs (skin side down) to crisp.
Stage 3 - Assemble
- Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan).
- In a wide deep casserole, layer half the beans, then the browned pork, sausage chunks and pork belly cubes, then the remaining beans.
- Tuck the duck legs in, partially submerged.
- Pour in enough of the bean liquid to come three-quarters up.
- Scatter the breadcrumbs evenly over the top.
Stage 4 - Bake
- Bake uncovered for 2-2 ½ hours.
- Every 30 minutes, break the crust gently with the back of a spoon and push it under, letting a new crust form. Add more bean liquid if drying out.
- The cassoulet is done when the top has been broken into the beans 3-4 times, the meat is meltingly tender, and the surface is deep golden.
Stage 5 - Serve
- Rest for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with parsley. Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread and a sharp green salad.
Notes
- The crust ritual: Breaking the top crust back into the beans three or four times builds the layered, gelatinous texture that defines a real cassoulet. Skip it and you've made bean and sausage casserole.
- Confit duck makes the dish: If you can't get jarred confit, slow-roast 4 duck legs covered in salt then in fat for 3 hours at 100°C beforehand.
- Toulouse sausage: Coarse, garlicky, traditional. Coarse pork sausages are an acceptable substitute.
Storage
- Improves overnight. Keeps 3-4 days refrigerated.
- Reheat at 150°C for 40 minutes covered, then 10 uncovered to re-crust.
- Freezes 3 months.
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