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Cassoulet De Castelnaudary (IMH)

french, legumes, main dish, pork

1 kg white haricot beans; pre-soaked overnight
3 med onions; stuck with
3 ea cloves; one in each onion
2 stalks celery; washed
100 gms carrots; peeled & quartered
3 tablespoon tomato puree
1 kg salt belly of pork; remove rind and keep
2 tbs duck fat; from confit
4 legs duck confit
675 gms toulouse sausages; nb
1 litre stock
4 cloves garlic; chopped together with
25 g fat from raw ham; chopped, and
2 ea shallots; chopped
salt and black pepper
----optional----
3 tablespoon dried breadcrumbs; to make crust

NB Any pure pork sausage can be used - ideally slightly garlicky.

Wash and roll up the skin from the pork, then tie in two or three places. The ideal beans to use are the large variety known as Tarbais (from Tarbes). In the autumn, they can be bought semi dried, and in this condition, do not need to be soaked. But you'll need twice the weight.

1. Warm the (opened can of) confit in hot water and when the fat has melted, remove the legs. Now separate fat and juices, Take the measured amount and place it in a frying pan. Reserve the rest for roasting etc.

2. Place the rolled up pork skin in a large saucepan, add the beans and cover with fresh cold water, bring to the boil and boil hard for 5 minutes. Drain well. Now add the onions, stuck with cloves, the carrots and the celery. Add plenty of water, enough to cover by at least an inch or two, and add the tomato puree. Bring to the boil and cook until the beans are quite soft, but by no means falling apart, making sure the beans are always covered with boiling water. This can take between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending upon the type and freshness and original soaking time. When the beans are adequately cooked, drain, reserving the cooking liquid, to which you add the juices from the confit and the stock (see below).

3. Meanwhile, cut the pork belly into largish cubes, at least one per person, put into a pan covered with cold water, bring to the boil and blanch 2 minutes. Drain, rejecting the water. Dry the cubes a little and then fry them in the the duck or goose fat in the frying pan, browning on all sides. Reserve.

4. Halve each confit leg, and fry them too in turn (beware, they may well spit very badly, be prepared to cover the pan). Remove and reserve.

5. Finally add the sausages and cook them in their turn over high heat, till slightly browned, but by no means cooked through.

6 Pour off almost all the fat, and over gentle heat add the "hachis" (the garlic, shallot and (sort of optional) ham fat chopped together quite finely, and cook it a couple of minutes, stirring to dissolve all the crusty bits from the pan. When well softened, add this to the mixture of confit liquid and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the beans are cooked, when you add their cooking liquor as well.

7. Remove the vegetables from the cooked beans, and bin them. Remove the rolled up couenne (pork skin), and cut into slices like swiss roll slices. Spread these on the bottom of a large casserole - ideally earthenware. Now put about 1/3 of the beans over the top.

8. Add the confit pieces and pork belly cubes and sort of bury them in the beans. Now add the rest of the beans and finally put in the sausages, sinking them into the beans as well. Preheat the oven to 150�C 300�F.

9. Tip over the mixture of stock & cooking liquids, that you've been preparing and add enough water to come to the level of the beans, not more. Don't add salt at this stake, because the meats have a lot. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper

10. Transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for a 3-4 hours, uncovered, gently pushing the brown crust which will form back down into the beans with a cook's spoon several times during the cooking period (the tradition says six or seven times). If the liquid level drops much below the surface, add a little more boiling water (or stock) but don't drown the cassoulet. About half way through this baking period, taste for salt and add some cautiously if needed.

11. About an hour before serving, turn the oven up a bit to 170�C, 350�F, and if you want, sprinkle with enough breadcrumbs to make a thin layer.

12. Serve hot making sure each diner gets a piece of all the meats.

Accompany with a green salad, and a young rather tannic red wine.

This dish can be prepared well in advance and reheated or frozen for future
use.

Contributor: IMH

Yield: 8 servings (with copious seconds)

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