Cassoulet

Sounds cool, right? Really its just French way of saying casserole, but this is a fine country style casserole that is pretty involved and makes a lot. But if you grind your way through it, you will be properly rewarded. French cuisine is broken into many styles, such a Provence style rich is seafood and Parisian, which is heavy is sauces and high-end ingredients. Country cooking is more down to earth using ingredients likely to found on farms or roadside stands. This is a country style cassoulet.

Ingredients

• Bean Base
  • 1 lb Great Northern beans – dried
  • 1 Whole clove
  • 0.5 Onion – whole
  • 4 Garlic cloves – smashed
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 tsp Dried Thyme
  • 0.5 tsp Dried Rosemary
  • 10 cups water
• Main Ingredients
  • 8 oz Thick-sliced Bacon – cut in 1/2″ ribbons
  • 2 Celery stalks – diced
  • 2 Carrots – diced
  • 0.5 Onion – diced
  • 1 tsp Olive oil
  • 16 oz Link sausages (i.e., French herb sausage) – cut in half crosswise
  • 16 oz Cooked Duck leg confit
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Black pepper
  • 1tsp Herb de Provence
  • 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• Topping:
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 TBL Olive oil
  • 4 Garlic cloves – crushed
  • 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 Bunch Fresh Parsley – finely chopped
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste\

Process

1. Mise en Place – measure and prepare all your ingredients prior to starting.
2. Prepare Beans
   1. Soak beans in water in a large bowl overnight.
   2. Drain beans and place into a large soup pot.
   3. Push whole clove into the half-onion and add to beans; stir in garlic, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and 10 cups water. Bring beans to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until beans have started to soften, ~1 hr.
   4. Drain beans and reserve the cooking liquid.
   5. Discarding onion with clove and bay leaf. Transfer beans to a large bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Cook bacon in a large, Dutch at M heat until lightly browned and still limp, ~5 mins.
5. Stir in celery, carrots, and diced onion. Season with salt. Cook vegetables until tender, ~10 mins.
6. Heat a large, heavy skillet over M heat. Add 1 tsp olive oil let get hot. Brown sausage link halves and duck confit until browned, ~5 mins per side.
7. Season vegetable-bacon mixture with salt, pepper, and herb de Provence.
8. Stir in diced tomatoes and cook over M heat until juice from tomatoes has nearly evaporated and fond has dissolved, ~5 mins. Stir mixture into beans.
9. Spread half the bean mixture into the Dutch oven and place duck-sausage mixture on top.
10. Spread remaining beans on top.
11. Add just enough of the reserved bean liquid to cover the beans. Reserve remaining liquid.
12. Bring the cassoulet to a simmer on stovetop and cover Dutch oven with lid.
13. Bake cassoulet in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
14. Prepare topping
    1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
    2. Add crushed garlic cloves, panko crumbs, and parsley. Season with S&P, and drizzle 1 TBL olive oil over crumbs. Stir to combine.
15. Check liquid level of cassoulet. The mixture should still have several inches of liquid. If beans seem dry, add more of the reserved bean liquid. Spread half the crumb mixture evenly over the beans and return to oven.
16. Cook, uncovered, for 20 mins. There should be about 2 or 3 inches of liquid at the bottom of the pot. If mixture seems dry, add more reserved bean water. Sprinkle remaining half the bread crumb mixture over cassoulet.
17. Turn oven heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake cassoulet, uncovered, until crumb topping is crisp and the edges are bubbling, ~25 mins.
18. Serve beans on individual plates and top each serving with a piece of duck and sausage pieces.