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madbaker(Last) week's Resolution Recipe: Cassoulet.
The etymology of the recipe name is kinda interesting, at least for a word geek like me. It is, of course, Fronch. Looking in the Fronch equivalent of the OED, it comes from the same root word as cassé, or "broke(n)". It's a diminutive (-let): it was originally a poor peasant dish, and so the name derives from being a meal you made when you were "a little broke".
This is going to sound like a lot of work, but it's mostly scheduling.
4 confit duck legses (I used Dittmers' smoked duck legses rather than confiting fresh duck legses)
5 cups (1100 grams) white beans (I used flageolets, the traditional cassoulet white bean)
2 lb fresh pork belly (I used "fresh", ie unsmoked bacon)
1 onion, quartered
1 lb pork rind (I used salt duck from an unsuccessful duck prosciutto attempt)
1 bouquet garni (parsley, bay leaf, and thyme tied and wrapped in cheesecloth)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup duck fat (mine was smoked duck fat from a successful duck proscuitto attempt)
6 pork sausages, sliced (I used homemade chicken sausages)
3 onions, sliced thin
1 (hah!) garlic clove, sliced thin
Two days before eating, soak the beans overnight. There should be 2-3" of water above the beans.
The next day, drain and rinse the beans, placing in a large pot. Add the pork belly, quartered onion, 1/4 lb of the pork rind, and the bouquet garni. Cover with water, add salt and pepper to taste (I omitted because there was plenty of salted meat already) and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook about an hour until the beans are tender. Let cool for 20 minutes and discard the onion and bouquet garni. Remove the pork belly, cut into 2" squares, and set aside. Strain the beans and set aside, reserving the cooking liquid.
In a saute pan, heat all but 1 Tbsp duck fat until it becomes transparent. Add the sausages and brown. Fish out and brown the sliced onion, garlic, and the pork rind squares. Once browned, remove from heat and puree in a blender with the remaining 1 Tbsp duck fat. Set aside.
Heat oven to 350. Place the uncooked pork rind in the bottom of a deep earthenware dish (I use Le Creuset) like a piecrust. Arrange all ingredients in layers: beans, sausages, beans, pork belly, beans, duck confit, beans - with a dab of the puree in between each layer. Add enough of the bean cooking liquid to cover the beans, reserving about 1/2 to 1 cup for later. Cook the cassoulet in the oven for 1 hour, then reduce heat to 250 and cook another hour. Remove and let cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Day of eating: heat oven to 350 and cook cassoulet for 1 hour. Break the crust on top with a spoon and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Reduce heat to 250 and cook another 15 minutes, until very hot through and through. Share and enjoy.
What worked: I made roughly a half recipe using one pound beans. I increased the garlic amounts which I am sure improved the dish. Everyone liked it.
What didn't: It was a bit too salty for my taste. I guess I should use less salted meats.
Also, while everything was well-cooked and the beans were nice and creamy, I needed to add more liquid - the endproduct was edible with a fork. Not bad, just not quite my preference. And the dish was quite hearty in that there was a lot of meat. Next time I'll use less.
Will I make it again? Yup, especially in cold weather.
What I'm reading: Charles Stross, The Jennifer Morgue
The etymology of the recipe name is kinda interesting, at least for a word geek like me. It is, of course, Fronch. Looking in the Fronch equivalent of the OED, it comes from the same root word as cassé, or "broke(n)". It's a diminutive (-let): it was originally a poor peasant dish, and so the name derives from being a meal you made when you were "a little broke".
This is going to sound like a lot of work, but it's mostly scheduling.
4 confit duck legses (I used Dittmers' smoked duck legses rather than confiting fresh duck legses)
5 cups (1100 grams) white beans (I used flageolets, the traditional cassoulet white bean)
2 lb fresh pork belly (I used "fresh", ie unsmoked bacon)
1 onion, quartered
1 lb pork rind (I used salt duck from an unsuccessful duck prosciutto attempt)
1 bouquet garni (parsley, bay leaf, and thyme tied and wrapped in cheesecloth)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup duck fat (mine was smoked duck fat from a successful duck proscuitto attempt)
6 pork sausages, sliced (I used homemade chicken sausages)
3 onions, sliced thin
1 (hah!) garlic clove, sliced thin
Two days before eating, soak the beans overnight. There should be 2-3" of water above the beans.
The next day, drain and rinse the beans, placing in a large pot. Add the pork belly, quartered onion, 1/4 lb of the pork rind, and the bouquet garni. Cover with water, add salt and pepper to taste (I omitted because there was plenty of salted meat already) and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook about an hour until the beans are tender. Let cool for 20 minutes and discard the onion and bouquet garni. Remove the pork belly, cut into 2" squares, and set aside. Strain the beans and set aside, reserving the cooking liquid.
In a saute pan, heat all but 1 Tbsp duck fat until it becomes transparent. Add the sausages and brown. Fish out and brown the sliced onion, garlic, and the pork rind squares. Once browned, remove from heat and puree in a blender with the remaining 1 Tbsp duck fat. Set aside.
Heat oven to 350. Place the uncooked pork rind in the bottom of a deep earthenware dish (I use Le Creuset) like a piecrust. Arrange all ingredients in layers: beans, sausages, beans, pork belly, beans, duck confit, beans - with a dab of the puree in between each layer. Add enough of the bean cooking liquid to cover the beans, reserving about 1/2 to 1 cup for later. Cook the cassoulet in the oven for 1 hour, then reduce heat to 250 and cook another hour. Remove and let cool, then refrigerate overnight.
Day of eating: heat oven to 350 and cook cassoulet for 1 hour. Break the crust on top with a spoon and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Reduce heat to 250 and cook another 15 minutes, until very hot through and through. Share and enjoy.
What worked: I made roughly a half recipe using one pound beans. I increased the garlic amounts which I am sure improved the dish. Everyone liked it.
What didn't: It was a bit too salty for my taste. I guess I should use less salted meats.
Also, while everything was well-cooked and the beans were nice and creamy, I needed to add more liquid - the endproduct was edible with a fork. Not bad, just not quite my preference. And the dish was quite hearty in that there was a lot of meat. Next time I'll use less.
Will I make it again? Yup, especially in cold weather.
What I'm reading: Charles Stross, The Jennifer Morgue
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Cassoulet, schmassoulet
Date: 2007-02-05 08:20 pm (UTC)(Cassoulet does sound yummy, though.)
Re: Cassoulet, schmassoulet
Date: 2007-02-05 08:36 pm (UTC)Mmmmmmmmmm. Yum.
Date: 2007-02-05 08:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-05 08:57 pm (UTC)You've given me some ideas about what to do with my green (the uncured green, not the fuzzy and stinky green) bacon. I'll have to try this recipe on a free weekend.
a meal you made when you were "a little broke".
Date: 2007-02-06 10:39 pm (UTC)I looked it up, and:
"The dish is named after the cassole, the distinctive oval covered earthenware pot in which cassoulet is ideally cooked."
But perhaps your cassole a little broke(n)?
"a little broke".
Date: 2007-02-06 11:48 pm (UTC)However, all the things I wrote are true. In isolation.