I love cassoulet, it is easy to make and, as with many good recipes it has many local variations. It is a real French one pot peasant meal, which means that depending on how flush you are feeling it can be either a cheap dinner that is bulked out with lots of beans or an opulent feast full of duck!
This recipe as with all recipes, is not a definative version, play around with it until it is to your liking. I'm a sucker for lots of garlic and smoky Toulouse sausage in mine, but it is just a case of personal taste. This recipe is a more everyday version without the duck in but, for 4 people half the amount pork and add one cooked duck leg per person.
This recipe is ideally cooked in an ovenproof casserole such as a Le Creuset but can be cooked on the top at a pinch.
Prep time: About 20 minutes
Cooking time: About 2 hours
For 4 people you will need:
One large onion, chopped roughly
4 large cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
2 bay leaves
4 Toulouse sausages, sliced into chunks about 1cm thick (www.wealdsmokery.co.uk do ace ones, but most supermarkets sell some sort of smoked garlic sausage which will work)
2 cans of haricot beans, drained and rinsed in fresh water
About 400g of pork fillet roughly diced
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
A splash of white wine
Half a tube of concentrated tomato paste
Method
1. Fry the chopped onion in a little olive oil until soft and slightly browned.
2. Add the garlic and fry until cooked.
3. Remove the onion and garlic and add a little more oil to the pan. Turn up the heat
4. Add the diced pork and seal the pork all over giving it a little colour.
5. Place the onions and garlic back in the pan and deglaze it with a good slug of white wine.
6. Add the Toulouse sausage, beans, tomatoes, tomato concentrate and bay leaves.
7. Get the mixture up to the boil and place in an oven at 180degC for about 2 hours.
8. Check it and give it a stir every half hour or so, if it looks a little dry add a splash more white wine.
This needs nothing more to be served with than a good bit of crusty French bread and a glass of white wine or your favorite beer (something like Budvar or any other Czech style lager is an awesome combo with pork cooked like this).
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Cassoulet has to be one of my favourite dishes, I love. I've never cooked it tho, I've been sticking to the great jars that you can get in a decent deli - I get it from Macknades.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching for a decent beer to pair. I tried Kwak but it didn't work. I think you need a nice dose of sharp/sour to cut the fat, that's why red wine does the job so well. I might try with an Orval soon or 3 Monts.
I agree, the heavier fattier recipes with lots of duck or goose need either a bold red or something sharp to cut though all the other bold flavours.My recipe is a lot less fatty with more concentrated tomato and pork flavours. Pork and Czech lager really works for me, which is kind of logical really. Pork is the staple meat of the Czech republic and they invented pilsner too!
ReplyDeletePerhaps a smoked beer might be a good choice to mirror the smokiness in the Toulouse sausage?
Yeah this recipe is much lighter and possibly easier to pair. A smoked beer might do the job or maybe even a decent dark lager. Something like White Shield IPA would probably be one of the first bottle I'd reach for.
ReplyDeleteooh you seem like an interesting person ^^,
ReplyDeletenice to see someone like you! being "obsessed" with food and drinks. thats awesome! keep up the good work!
Thanks very much, i'm glad you enjoyed reading. Keep checking back for more recipes and articles!
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