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5 hours ago
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Being French, this rich, leguminous casserole passes as “a voluptuous monument to rustic tradition”, rather than being relegated, like our own pease pudding and ham, to the faintly dismissive category of “comfort food”. In truth, however, it is both: soothingly starchy and deliciously savoury. My take on this classic dish makes no claim to be the one true Carcassone, Castelnaudary or Toulouse cassoulet, but it is worth your time.
Soak 8 hr+
Prep 15 min
Cook 4 hr 15 min
Serves 6-8
800g dried haricot beans
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 head of garlic, left whole and unpeeled, plus 4 peeled garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1kg bone-in pork belly, or lamb breast
2 confit duck legs, plus their fat
4 garlicky Toulouse sausages
Salt and black pepper
300ml white wine
120g dried breadcrumbs
1 Soak the dried beans
Haricot are preferable here, and you can get some lovely heirloom French varieties online, but if need be dried cannellini or other white beans will do. Put the beans in a large, ovenproof pot, cover with cold water and soak for at least eight hours; I’m afraid this is one recipe where tinned shortcuts just won’t cut the mustard.
2 A note on the meat
If you don’t eat pork, then substitute lamb breast for the pork belly and sausages as appropriate; ideally, though, use something that’s relatively fatty and mildly spiced (there’s a decent-looking quick vegetarian recipe on the Gourmet magazine website to which you could add meat-free sausages, for example). Toulouse sausages and confit duck are both easily found in large supermarkets, delis and online; Pipers Farm sells free-range confit duck.
3 Cook the soaked beans and meat
Drain the soaked beans and return them to the pot. Pour in cold water to cover by about 3cm, then add the halved onion, garlic head, herbs and pork belly. Bring to a boil (you may at this stage need to remove some water, but top it up during cooking). Cover and simmer for about two hours, until the beans are just tender.
4 Fry the duck and sausages
Meanwhile, melt some of the fat from the duck confit in a frying pan on a medium-high heat, then fry the duck and sausages separately until the duck skin is crisp and both are golden all over.
Transfer the duck and sausages to a plate and set aside the frying pan and the rest of the duck fat, both of which will be used to make the topping later. Once cooled, cut the sausages into large chunks and strip generous pieces of the meat off the duck legs.
5 Drain the beans
Once the beans are cooked through, but still firm and holding their shape, scoop out the pork belly and cut it into bite-size pieces; discard any bones, as well as the onion halves and herbs, but not the garlic.
Drain the beans into a heatproof bowl, retaining the liquid separately; keep the pot they were cooked in.
6 Mash the garlic and duck fat
Squeeze the cooked garlic cloves out of their skins and into a bowl, add four tablespoons of the reserved duck fat and the remaining four peeled and chopped garlic cloves, and mash to a paste.
Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3 (you can cook this on a low heat on the hob, if you prefer, but it’ll brown better and be easier to look after in the oven).
7 Build the cassoulet
Grease the base of the pot with a little of the garlicky duck fat mix, then tip in the beans, meats and all but a tablespoon of the remaining garlicky duck fat mix, plus any jelly from the confit jar or tin.
Lightly season and mix well, then pour in the reserved bean cooking liquid and the wine; if there’s not enough liquid to cover the beans, top up with a little water.
Fry the breadcrumbs briefly in the reserved tablespoon of duck fat, just to coat, then scatter a thin layer over the top of the cassoulet (don’t use them all).
Bake uncovered for about two hours, keeping a beady eye on the pot: once a crust has formed, stir this into the bean mix, top with more fried breadcrumbs, and bake until you end up with a thick, golden topping.
9 Cool a little, then serve
Leave to cool to warm before serving, preferably with a green salad to follow (or even, though very untraditionally, alongside). Note that you can make the cassoulet a couple of days ahead of time and reheat it in a low oven, topping up the liquid, if required. It also freezes well, so it’s worth making it in this quantity, even if you’re serving a smaller number of people.
