French Recipe – Cassoulet

Cassoulet is a hearty stew from Toulouse. It is a combination of beans, sausages, pork and other meats. It is a regional specialty of the south of France.

You could either eat as is, hot from the pot after cooking, or sprinkle breadcrumbs and cheese on top and bake to make a gratin!

Number of servings: 6
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1h 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 300 g lamb shoulder
  • 300 g spare ribs
  • 250 g salted pork belly
  • 400 g confit of duck
  • 300 g Toulouse sausage
  • 100 g pork rind
  • 500 g lingot beans
  • 50 g duck fat (you can use the fat from the duck confit)
  • 1 carrot
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 onions
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
  • 1 bouquet garni (bunch of mixed herbs
  • 1 clove
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Salt, pepper

Step 1
The day before, soak the beans in cold water and change the water two to three times.

Step 2
In a pressure cooker, Put 2.5 litres of water, add the beans (drain the water from them), an onion pierced with a clove, two cloves of garlic, the pork rind,the salted belly, the carrot (chopped into rondelles), and the bouquet garni. Close the cooker and leave to cook. When it starts steaming, lower the heat and let cook for 15 minutes. Then, open the cooker and put the beans to one side with the stock, remove the rind and the belly and put to one side. Clean the cooker.

Step 3
Chop the pork and the lamb into pieces and put them back into the cooker with the duck fat so that they can brown. Add in the rind (chopped into pieces), the second onion (chopped),the remaining three cloves of garlic (minced), the tomato puree and 1 litre of the bean stock. When it starts steaming, lower the flame and let cook for about 18 minutes.

Step 4
Open the cooker and add the strained beans, the confit, the Toulouse sausage and the pork belly (sliced). Add salt and pepper (be careful not to add too much because the pork belly and the sausage are already very salty). When it starts steaming, lower the flame and let cook for about 15 minutes.
Step 5
Serve the cassoulet in a clay casserole dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and let it bake into a gratin before serving.

Discover more delicious French recipes HERE.

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