Cassoulet

Ingredients

The beans

• 1 pound dried Great Northern white beans
• 5 cups boiling water
• 1 medium onion, studded with 2 whole cloves
• 1 carrot, quartered
• 1 rib celery, quartered
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• Bouquet garni (1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley stems, all tied in cheesecloth bag)
• ¼ cup salt pork, diced fine
• 2 pounds garlic sausage (kielbasa or bauernwurst, for example)
• 2 teaspoon salt

The ragout

• 2 tablespoons duck fat or cooking oil
• 1 ½ pounds cubed raw pork or lamb (or 3/4 pound of each)
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 cup peeled tomatoes, chopped
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup beef stock (from consomme, above) or duck stock (see below)
• Black pepper to taste

The cassoulet

• 1 ½ pounds sliced preserved duck meat (see below) or leftover roast duck meat
• Reserved sausage (see above), sliced
• Leftover duck gravy, if any
• 2 cups soft, fresh bread crumbs
• ¼ cup butter, melted

12 servings

Preparation

The beans

1. Wash beans, add boiling water and boil 2 minutes, covered. Turn heat off and let stand for 1 hour.
2. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove sausage and reserve it. Recover and cook beans for 40 minutes more.

The ragout

1. Heat fat in large skillet and brown meat on all sides. Transfer meat to bean mixture, leaving fat behind.
2. Add onions to skillet and brown lightly, stirring often. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to bean mixture and simmer everything for 1 hour more, adding additional stock if mixture becomes too dry (it should be quite soupy) Remove bouquet garni. Check seasoning.

The cassoulet

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spread half of bean and meat mixture in bottom of large casserole. Arrange sliced duck and sausage over it and top with rest of mixture.
3. Mix breadcrumbs with melted butter and sprinkle half of them over top of dish. Bake for 40 minutes, push crust down into mixture with spoon (gently, so as not to scramble layers), add rest of buttered breadcrumbs and continue cooking until crust reforms. Keep warm until serving time; do not let it dry out.

3 hours 45 minutes