Cassoulet: a French dish

Cassoulet is a well-known French dish, and a speciality of the south-west of France.

According to the legend, the first "estofat" (occitan word, which is a local dialect) with beans was cooked while the City of Castelnaudary was under siege, during the war of one hundred years (1337 - 1453). This war opposed French and English for the control of the west of France.
In order to feed the defenders of their City, the cooks of this epoch gathered all the food available and prepared only one dish made of dried beans and various meats. After this copious meal washed down with plenty of alcohol, the combatants rushed at the panic-stricken English army, who ran away. The legend says the English did not stop running until they reached the shores of the Manche.

Some historians believe the culture of beans was introduced in France during the seventeeth century by the Arabs. Others think beans were known in France a long time before the discovery of America by Christopher Colombus, and were cultivated a lot in the south-west of France.

The origin of the word "cassoulet" is less debated: the potters from the village called Issel, close to Castelnaudary, used to make pots in terracotta. The name of these pots was "cassoles", in which the "cassoulet" simmered.

Castelnaudary is the capital of cassoulet, but Carcassonne and Toulouse, two other cities in the south of France, have their own cassoulet dishes.

Here is the real recipe to make the perfect cassoulet: (for ten people)

Ingredients:

- First Cooking:
1 1/2 pound white beans
4 ounces fresh pork skin rolled up and tied
1/2 pound cubed salt pork belly
2 carrots, scraped and sliced
1 onion, peeled and stuck with 6 cloves
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bunch of fresh herbs: parsley, thyme, rosemary, fennel, bay leaf, tied together
6 black peppercorns, crushed

- Second Cooking:
1 leg of preserved goose or duck (confit), with its dripping (1/4 of a fresh bird can substitute)
1 pound boned, rolled, and tied shoulder of lamb (optional, but it may substitute for the goose)
1/2 pound lean pork cut into large pieces
1/2 pound fresh pork sausage (saucisse de Toulouse or any garlic-flavored fresh pork sausage)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 onions, chopped
2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped
OR
8 ounce can tomatoes
1/2 pound dried spicy garlic sausage
Salt and pepper
Turn this recipe into a puzzle!

Method:

You will need a heavy saucepan, a frying pan, and a cassole or toupin, or your favorite large earthenware pot with a lid. Check the beans for little bits of gravel, and then put them to soak overnight in cold water.

The next day, drain the beans and put them into a saucepan with the rest of the "first cooking" ingredients. Cover everything with fresh water, bring to a boil, and skim off the gray foam which rises. Turn down the heat and simmer the beans for an hour, until they are soft but still whole, adding more boiling water if necessary.

Meanwhile, prepare the meats in the "second cooking" group. Put the preserved leg of goose or duck into a frying pan and melt off the drippings. Take out and reserve the leg itself. Or prepare the piece of fresh bird by broiling it gently for 10 minutes on each side until the fat runs (put these drippings into the frying pan). If you're using lamb, fry it until the outside is caramelized. Fry the pork with the garlic in the goose drippings, until browned. Remove and reserve them. Fry the onions. Drain off the fat which remains and save it for the finishing.

When the beans are ready, take out the onion and the bunch of herbs. Untie and lay the pork skin (with the fat side down) in the base of the earthenware casserole. Layer the beans with the meats, onions, tomatoes, and garlic sausage into the casserole, finishing with a layer of beans. From now on it is only a matter of oven time. Long, slow cooking is the trick. Cover the pot and put it in a preheated 250F (120°C) oven for 2 hours (if the beans get too dry, pour in a little boiling water -- the beans will harden if you use cold water).

At the end of this time, take the lid off the casserole for the final stage, which will take another hour (completing the four hours).

Pour a tablespoonful of the melted goose fat over the surface of the casserole. Increase the oven heat to 325F (160°C) and return the dish uncovered to the oven. It will take half an hour to form a beautiful crust. Break this with a spoon and stir it into the beans.

On the final stirring, taste, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Leave for the final half hour.


Sources :
- Cassoulet.net (in french)
- Official website of the "fête du Cassoulet"
- Wikipedia (about the war of one hundred years)

Photography :
The French newspaper Le Monde