When Dave and I barged the Midi Canal in France we started our journey In Toulouse. I made Dave eat cassoulet for dinner on our first night so that he could compare the one made in Castelnaudary. Cassoulet is a dish traditional to the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. No one is quite sure where cassoulet originates, but the two towns of Toulouse and Castelnaudary both claim it as their own. Dave had cassoulet again in Castelnaudary and for a third time when we returned to Toulouse at the end of our trip. This was not a dish I was going to try as at that stage of my life I would not have considered myself a bean eater. In the south of France the dish is served with way more beans than meat. On our last day in Toulouse we purchased a huge tin of of cassoulet and we served it for friends when we got back from our holiday. When Jo set this month’s I Made It challenge I decided that I would make the dish with fewer beans than is traditional. I was going to make it with chicken, as duck is so expensive but I changed my mind when I saw duck leg quarters at my local Food Lovers Market. It is a labour of love that I would do again as my cassoulet was extremely hearty.

Cassoulet

Would you go on a barge holiday?

Cassoulet

 

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Ingredients

for the duck confit

• 330g duck fat
• 2 duck leg quarters

for the cassoulet

• 500mls chicken stock
• 1 large onion, cut into quarters
• 2 large carrots, cut into thirds
• 70g piece of bacon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
• 15mls olive oil
• 2 Toulouse sausages
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 15mls tomato paste
• 1 tin white beans (240g net weight)

Method

for the duck confit

1. Melt the duck fat in a sauté pan over a low heat
2. Place the leg quarters into the melted fat skin side down and cook on the lowest setting for 30 minutes
3. Turn over and cook for another hour
4. Turn over and cook for another 30 minutes
5. Remove from the fat and set aside

for the cassoulet

1. Place the chicken stock into a large casserole dish
2. Add the onion, carrots and bacon
3. Season and bring to the boil
4. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for an hour
5. Preheat the oven to 150°Celsius
6. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan
7. Fry the duck until browned
8. Remove and set aside, and then brown the sausage
9. Remove and set aside and add the garlic to the pan
10. Sauté for a minute
11. Deglaze the pan with the tomato paste
12. Add the beans to the frying pan and mix in with the tomato paste and garlic
13. Now place all of the ingredients into the broth and adjust the seasoning
14. Cook for 2 hours

to serve

1. Place one duck leg quarter and one sausage into 2 bowls
2. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beans
3. Serve with the reduced broth

My Notes

You can put your duck fat into a sterilized glass jar for future use – just make sure you remove all the solids. Or you can store the duck leg quarters in the fat in a clay jar for months to make an authentic confit. Bacon is sold whole as kassler steaks.

3.3.3077

Cassoulet

What I blogged:

• one year ago – Interview with Angeliqueca Roux
• two years ago – Clemengold and Cranberry Cake
• three years ago – Chilli Oil

I Made It

Bloggers who took part this month:
Cupcakes and Couscous

Tandy

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