Food & Drink

How To Make Cassoulet

Cassoulet Recipe. A French main dish perfect for an intimate dinner party. Savour our Cassoulet recipe. Enlarge

How To Make Cassoulet

Cassoulet Recipe. A French main dish perfect for an intimate dinner party. Savour our Cassoulet recipe.

Prep:
1h
Cook:
40m
Total:
1h:40m
Serves:
4

Step 1: You will need

  • 200 g white beans soaked overnight in water
  • Quarter of an onion
  • Half carrot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 duck breast
  • 1 garlic sausage, preferably Toulousain
  • Three quarters onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic, crushed
  • 100 g bacon, chopped
  • 150 ml of chicken stock
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp parsley chopped
  • 1 deep saucepan
  • 1 strainer
  • 1 frying pan
  • 1 ovenproof casserole dish and lid
  • 1 spoon
  • 1 fork

Step 2: Cook the beans

Place the beans in a sauce pan and add water up to about halfway full. Then add a quarter of onion, a celery stick, half a carrot and bay leaves. Cook for 45 minutes on a low heat.

Every now and again you will need to remove the froth and scum that rises onto the surface. While the beans are cooking you have time to prepare the rest of ingredients.

Step 3: Prepare the duck

Start by seasoning the duck breast with salt and pepper on both sides.

Step 4: Cook the duck

Place the duck skin side down on a low heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the fat has rendered. No oil is needed for cooking the duck. Once cooked, remove it and place to one side.

Step 5: Cook the sausage

Add the sausage to the same frying pan and fry quickly until it is golden brown. Remove it, once cooked and put to one side with the duck.

Step 6: Fry the bacon, onions and garlic

Add to the melted fat the bacon, onions and the garlic and fry until the onions are browned. When you see that the all ingredients are browned, strain the fat and put to one side.

Step 7: Strain the water from the beans

By this time the beans should be nearly ready. Check to see that they are and if so strain away the water then remove the carrot, the onion, the celery and the bay leaf.

Step 8: Cut the duck and sausage

Once the duck and the sausage have cooled down cut them into 4 pieces.

Step 9: Combine all the ingredients

All the ingredients are now ready to be mixed together. Take the casserole dish and start by putting some white beans in and then the onion, the bacon, the duck, the sausage and the tomatoes. Mix in some salt and pepper as well.

Step 10: Cover with stock and into the oven

Now cover all the ingredients with stock, put on the lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling put in to the oven. Have the oven set at 150ºC and leave it for about 1 ½ hours.

Step 11: Raise the temperature and remove the lid

After an hour and a half, carefully remove the lid of the dish and raise the temperature to about 200ºC and leave it to brown on top.

Step 12: Season and serve

To create that important finishing touch, sprinkle some fresh parsley over the top of the steaming cassoulet and then serve up straight away ready to eat!