Let’s be honest. Easy cassoulet is an oxymoron. It isn’t easy without committing the labor, time, lots of ingredients and mindfulness to make a cassoulet.
Cassoulet is a rich combination of beans baked with meats. It’s as much a tradition of southwestern France as Boston baked beans are of New England. What goes into a cassoulet is a subject of infinite dispute. In addition, is the dish native to Toulouse? Or is it an adaptation from the Arab fava bean and mutton stew? Truth to tell, the awesomeness of cassoulet has nothing to do with its historical background. It’s all about the flavor — from the beans, the liquid and the meats.
What tips the scale and makes this the easy cassoulet for me, you may ask? It has to be a cheater approach (sorry and in a whisper!), by buying a cassoulet kit with all the ingredients you need in a box. (In fact, in the Gourmet Cookbook recipe online, it lists the telephone number of the supplier.) This was how I started many years ago. Over the years, I’ve found it hard to break the habit. Gourmet meal in a box makes life so much easier and tastier. By the way, it makes a phenomenal gift too! For sure, this happens to be the best place for heirloom French Tarbais beans, duck leg confit, or duck anything.
Still, you need a battle plan to manage the project. Either you break down the steps over two days or make ahead and bake the cassoulet when you’re ready to serve.
Consider the recipe below as a guideline. Chances are you’re going to substitute some of the ingredients and adapt the methodology. However, the steps are rather straightforward. See the process pictures below. Here is a list of essential building blocks for the cassoulet:
- Dried white beans
- Ham hock, slab bacon or pork rind to cook the beans (optional)
- Parsley, thyme, cloves, onion and garlic for the bouquet garni
- Can of tomato
- Duck leg confit
- Pork sausage
- Good broth or demi-glace
- Bread crumbs
The end result is like a trip to Paris. Best of all, the cassoulet is a feast for the family in lockdown and the ultimate comfort food. This recipe also serves as a roadmap for deliciousness in combining varieties of bean and meat.
Easy Cassoulet
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried white beans (preferably Great Northern)
- 8 1/4 cups cold water
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups chopped onion (3/4 lb)
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (6 large cloves)
- 1 (3-inch) piece celery, cut into thirds
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
- 3 whole cloves
- 3 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs plus 1/2 cup chopped leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 (14-oz) can stewed tomatoes, puréed or finely chopped with juice
- 4 confit duck legs* (1 3/4 lb total)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (if necessary)
- 1 lb cooked garlic pork sausage* or smoked pork kielbasa, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices
- 2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs, I used Panko
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Special Equipment:
- an 8-inch square of cheesecloth; kitchen string; a 4 1/2- to 5-quart casserole dish (3 to 4 inches deep)
Instructions
Soak and cook beans:
Cover beans with cold water by 2 inches in a large bowl and soak 8 to 12 hours. Drain in a colander.
Transfer beans to a 6- to 8-quart pot and bring to a boil with 8 cups cold water, broth, tomato paste, onion, and 2 tablespoons garlic. Put celery, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, parsley sprigs, and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with string to make a bouquet garni. Add bouquet garni to beans, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until beans are almost tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in tomatoes with juice and simmer until beans are just tender, about 15 minutes more.
Prepare duck and sausage while beans simmer:
Remove all skin and fat from duck legs and cut skin and fat into 1/2-inch pieces. Separate duck meat from bones, leaving it in large pieces, and transfer meat to a bowl. Add bones to bean pot.
Cook duck skin and fat with remaining 1/4 cup cold water in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until water is evaporated and fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until skin is crisp, 3 to 6 minutes more. Transfer cracklings with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, leaving fat in skillet. (You should have about 1/4 cup fat; if not, add olive oil.)
Brown sausage in batches in fat in skillet, then transfer to bowl with duck meat, reserving skillet.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Make bread crumb topping:
Add remaining tablespoon garlic to fat in skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cracklings.
Assemble casserole:
Remove bouquet garni and duck bones from beans and discard, then stir in kielbasa, duck meat, remaining teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Ladle cassoulet into the Dutch oven, distributing meat and beans evenly. Meat and beans should be level with liquid. Spread bread crumb topping evenly over cassoulet and bake, uncovered, in lower third of oven, until bubbling, about 2 hour.
Check occasionally to make sure the beans are not drying out. The texture should be similar to a thick stew. If it seems too dry, add some stock or water. Typically, you'll have to cut the crust and add liquid at least once, before it's hot all the way through. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F for about 45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned and a crust is formed.
*Available at some butcher shops and D'Artagnan (800-327-8246).
Notes
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cassoulet-107409
2 Comments
Kim Tracy
May 17, 2020 at 4:31 pmNow this is the perfect comfort dish for quarantine! I don’t love why we’re in quarantine, but I do love that we have time for cooking things like this and enjoying the process. I have never had cassoulet and I have thought about giving it a go at home, but have trouble sourcing the duck. I love the cassoulet kit you showed in your picture. I’m wondering if my Whole Foods would have something like that or if I’d have to order online? Looks like the ultimate comfort food- gorgeous!
Shirley@EverOpenSauce
May 18, 2020 at 8:44 pmKim, you might be able to find duck confit at Whole Foods from time to time, Don’t know the current status during lockdown. Believe it or not, I found a good deal at Costco for duck breasts and confit recently. Not everything you’d need to make the cassoulet, but a duck lover’s great find nonetheless.