In 2012 we did a multi-day bike tour on the repurposed tow path of the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to Narbonne. First night was in Castelnaudary which claims to be the place from which cassoulet originated. Dinner was at a venerable little restaurant known for its authentic preparation of this signature dish. The individual portions were HUGE-quite out of character for the manner in which the French typically dine. The small earthen pots consisted of a rich melange of white beans, sausage, ham and heaven knows what else. We couldn't come close to finishing our portions. In retrospect we could have happily split one entree. Wine, salad and bread rounded out the meal. We slept contentedly that night.
Many legends surround the origin of this dish. One such goes that during a time of privation due to marauding war parties of the notorious Edward, the Black Prince, food was scarce. The mayor sent out a plea to the townspeople to contribute whatever they still had on hand to make a communal dish which might tide them over until things settled down. So people brought beans, sausages, meat scraps including the rind, duck legs, you name it. These all went into huge pots and stewed for hours. The result was a unique, hearty and nourishing dish that has stood the test of time, and like so many signature dishes in France has something of a cult following. It takes its name from the vessel in which it is traditionally cooked a cassole
I've tried to reproduce this to the best of my ability, and admittedly still haven't quite gotten the hang of it. I've made a few mistakes and will pass on what wisdom I've garnered therefrom. My preferred recipe is from this website: https://youtu.be/AlQ5oepRTuY. I've reduced the quantities for a more manageable preparation. It's laborious and takes several days to do. You've been warned.
Ingredients
Tarbais beans 1 kilo.
-You can buy the French ones online. The domestic ones from Lodi, California are quite suitable and also available online. Don't substitute with Great Northern or Navy beans even though that's what some recipes would suggest.
Homemade broth-chicken or duck.
Yes, you can use commercially available broth but we both know these can't hold a candle to the homemade stuff.
-Aromatics: onion, celery, carrots, leeks, whole head of garlic cut in half, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, salt, peppercorns. Prepare a day ahead of time. Refrigerate and remove fat-save the fat if you're making a duck broth. I'm not a huge fan of chicken fat but you may feel differently.
Toulouse sausages 4. Duck ones, if you're lucky enough to find them.
-I really don't know any other sausage equivalent. Greek Loukanika perhaps, though this is probably as difficult to procure as the Toulouse variety.
Ventrèche 1/4 to 1/2 lb.
-D'Artagnan has this online, but it's pricey. If you've the good fortune to have a local specialty French grocery you might find it there. You can substitute pancetta but it's denser and considerably saltier, so adjust salt accordingly. Some recipes substitute pork belly but unless it's precooked (at least partially, to render the fat) that's a bit too greasy for my taste. The advantage of using pork belly is that you may also get the rind which is part of the authentic preparation. I've omitted it because it's a hassle to get in our country where the meats all come so aggressively trimmed and prettified.
Duck confit. You can buy already prepared in frozen meat sections of high end supermarkets like Whole Foods. I prefer to buy frozen duck legs and make my own by the sous vide method. (The traditional way of slowly cooking at very low temperature in a vat of duck fat is a pain in the derrière, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you have no other option.) Preparing your own is cheaper and you can freeze the ones you don't use. They will keep for months. Plus, you will harvest some nice duck fat and duck gelatin which you can use in many other dishes. I will post a separate entry on how to do your own confit.
Bacon unsmoked, uncured, unflavored 1/4 lb.
Method
If you've roasted a chicken or duck recently use all the bones, neck, gizzard, etc. If starting from scratch use 2 lbs of chicken backs and chicken feet (yes, you read that correctly. They add a gelatinous quality to bolster the broth.) These are dirt cheap and available in most stores or butcher counters. Asian groceries are a good bet for the chicken feet. Add an onion, carrot, celery, leek, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, salt, peppercorns and enough water to cover. Simmer for 2 hours. Drain and strain the broth. Store in refrigerator. Discard solids except for the garlic which you'll use later.
Soak Tarbais beans overnight. Drain and set aside in the morning.
Place beans in enough broth to cover and simmer gently until al dente. (Start the beans in cold broth to prevent them from bursting if dropped into boiling broth.) You want them to still be slightly firm as they've a lot more cooking to undergo later. Remove from broth and set aside. Reserve remaining broth.
Cut the bacon into chunks and add to small food processor along with the reserved garlic. Pulse until a coarse paste forms. Add this to the still warm beans and stir gently.
Gently brown the Toulouse sausages on all sides in a little duck fat. Set aside to cool until you can handle them, then cut each into 2-4 slices depending on your preference.
Cut the solid chunk of ventrèche into 2 cm. cubes.
In an ovenproof dish, preferably earthenware and more conical than cylindrical if possible, layer beans, layer meats, and repeat until done with the ingredients. Add broth until not quite covered. Start the cassoulet in a cold oven, as the mass of the cassole plus ingredients will take a while to heat up evenly. Bake at 350 ℉ for about 3 hours. Periodically check to ensure it's not drying out. You may need to sparingly top with a little broth or water. The top layer will form a crust. Push this gently into the wetter cassoulet to distribute this caramelized stuff. You'll need to do this a few times. Let the last layer brown a little for final presentation. No bread crumbs please!
Most recipes instruct you to add the confit legs to the top of the dish during the final 45 minutes of the bake. I think it's safer to prepare these separately and simply adorn the dish with them when it's presented at the table. That way you can concentrate on preparing the bean/meat and the confit parts separately without confounding the cooking process of each. The former has the advantage of simplicity-IF it works as planned. Of course, if you've bought the confit already prepared you simply need to reheat them in a pan prior to adding them for final presentation.
You can also make this dish in individual ovenproof vessels like we had in Castelnaudary. It's not as dramatic a presentation but it has the advantage of serving in a vessel which will keep the cassoulet warm for the duration of the meal. You'll have to adjust the baking times to account for the smaller volume and surface area.
Alex
Comments
Post a Comment