| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| sean |
Cassoulet...Just spent the thick end of a week making this from scratch, and will be eating it soon. I used a conflation of Rick Stein and Anthony Bourdain's recipes. Then I noticed that Rick's comment was that it was like Lancashire Hotpot, with which it has precisely no ingredients in common. So which of the two has Rick not eaten? |
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| sean |
That was excellent. Thanks to Alison for the three day bacon cure instructions. Rick's recipe calls for 1kg of haricot beans which is frankly stupid, I halved the quantity and have three large meals for two. Unless of course he meant 1kg after soaking.
And I'd go for the chapelure bit with the breadcrumbs next time. |
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| Treacodactyl |
So it has bacon & beans, any other hints? | ||
| twoscoops |
Didn’t RS compare the dishes as being regional specialities, both cooked in similar open dishes? | ||
| Behemoth |
He was saying that cassoulety and all its permutations was celebrated as a local dish and was just as good as a good lancashire hotpot which we take for granted and is seen as a bit boring and not celebrated at all. | ||
| sean |
Fair enough then, I hadn't seen the prog and the quotation at the top of the recipe seemed to suggest that he thought they were alike. | ||
| saffranne |
hi sean
cassoulet originate from toulouse,and the sausages put in the dish is again an original of toulouse,you can either add duck breast or goose breast,when my sister visits from paris she usually brings me two jar of the original from toulouse,really nice with just a baguette i also do have a recipe for the dish really easy to make,i do hope you enjoy your meal |
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| sean |
This is the Steinster's recipe:
Rick Steins Cassoulet - to be removed from the BBC website in October for copyright reasons i.e. his book's out for Christmas. "My cassoulet is based on examples I tried around the town of Castelnaudary. The essence seems to be the symbiosis of pork, duck fat, beans and garlic. The first time I tried cassoulet I was struck by how much it's like Lancashire Hotpot. " Ingredients 500g/1lb 2oz home-salted belly pork 65g/2½oz duck or goose fat 1 head garlic, broken into cloves, peeled and sliced 1 large onion, chopped 1kg/2¼lbs dried haricots, blancs beans, soaked overnight large bouquet garni made from leek, celery, thyme sprigs, bay leaves and parsley stalks 6 good quality Toulouse sausages 4 legs duck confit, cut into two at the joint Method 1. Cut the piece of belly pork lengthways into three thick slices, then cut each piece across into two. 2. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. 3. Heat 50g/1¾oz of the duck fat in a six-litre flameproof casserole dish. 4. Add the garlic and onion and fry gently until soft but not browned. 5. Add the beans and the pieces of salted belly pork, cover with 1¾ litres/3 pints water and push in the bouquet garni. 6. Bring to the boil, skimming off any scum as it rises to the surface, then cover, transfer to the oven and bake for one hour or until the beans are just tender (this will depend on the age of your beans). 7. Heat the remaining duck fat in a frying pan and brown the sausages all over. 8. Lift them onto a board and slice each one sharply on the diagonal into three pieces. 9. Remove the cassoulet from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 220C/425F/Gas 7. 10. Add the sausages and the pieces of duck confit to the casserole and push them down well into the beans. 11. Return the casserole to the oven and bake uncovered for a further 45 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the cassoulet is covered in a dark golden crust. 12. Serve straight from the pot at the table. |
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| Behemoth |
Having had experience of 1kg of beans recently I can confirm that as a large quantity of food requiring a big pan and and a certain amount of determination. | ||
| Nanny |
and presumably a fair amount of gaseous exhalation
a pound of haricot beans is a lot of effluvia unless of course you put in a pinch of ginger.......... |
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| hils |
I haven't thought about cassoulet for years! I'm so glad you posted this sean.
When the In Laws were around they used to bring back a HUGE tin of cassoulet from France which came with a really nice terracotta cooking pot, all for around a fiver. I've always avoided any meat from a tin other than tuna. But this is amazing if you ever have the chance to get your hands on one do. It has different layers of beans, duck, nice lincolnshire style sausage. I tried to do delias recipe but didn't turn out too well. |
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| Jonnyboy |
I made cassoulet the other night, similar recipe to sean's but with the addition of lamb, tomato puree and breadcrumbs drizzled with goose fat (to help the final crust) .
It was indeed super lovely. |
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| Gervase |
Wars have started over the tomato/no tomato recipes!
The lovely thing about cassoulet is that there is no definitive recipe; you just need to aim for the fatty, beany richness (and the breadcrumbs, ideally, to soak up the fat on the top). I've even been known to do it with chicken drumsticks, British bangers and a tin of Spam before now (how shameful a confession is that  !?)
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| sean |
It's that time of year again. | ||
| sean |
This time it's getting tomato and breadcrumbs. | ||
| Jonnyboy |
What beans are you going for? Do you find that haricots sometimes remain a little hard? | ||
| sean |
Haricot. I've only had problems with them if they're really old. | ||
| Nick |
A generous coating of pre-gated parmesan on top would set this dish off perfectly. |
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| Cardinal Fang |
Been using this recipe for 20 odd years; it's Keith Floyd's. The book "Floyd On France" fell to bits in the end, so we trancribed the best recipes into a scrap book. We do this 3 or 4 times a year.
Not recommended if you are on a diet, believe me. You also need an accommodatingly capacious casserole dish. Here goes: Ingredients Serves 8 1Kg belly pork, cubed 6 pieces preserved goose or duck (ignore the goose direction, unless you can find confit- just buy duck legs, they're as cheap as brass tacks because butchers just use the breasts if they joint a duck anyway) Goose fat (OK, here you could 'economise' by using duck fat, but please don't. Goose fat is the best.) 750g dried white haricots, soaked overnight 10 (yes 10) cloves of garlic, crushed, chopped or whole, as you prefer. 1 (yes- just one) bayleaf Dried thyme (a goodly pinch/ half a handful) 4 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped if you have the time, otherwise a tin of decent chopped tomatoes will do. 1 tbsp tomato puree 4 top of the range pork sausages A Toulouse smoked sausage At least a half a loaf of decent bread (and probably more)- reduced to breadcrumbs, and mixed with 8oz of mature cheddar. ________________________________________________________ 1. Fry the cubes of pork belly (seasoned with salt & pepper) in some goose fat until golden. 2. Add the soaked haricots, garlic (yep- all those 10 cloves...), thyme and bayleaf, tomatoes, & tomato puree. 3. Cover the lot with cold water and put in the oven at 170C to simmer for 90 mins. 4. Brown the bangers in some goose fat. Brown the goose/duck in the same oil. 5. Phone to cancel your sub to the BUPA hospital, on account of Step 4. 6. Transfer the pork belly, the haricot beans mix etc to a greased ovenproof casserole. Turn up the oven to 200C, add the goose/duck and browned sausages, and the sliced Toulouse sausage on top and cook for 20 mins. 7. Mix thoroughly. Throw some of the breadcrumbs on top and return to the oven. Crank it up to 220C. If it looks a tad dry, just add some water and mix up. 8. When the breadcrumbs have slipped into the sauce (about 15 mins), top up with breadcrumbs and repeat for 15 mins. Again, if it looks dry, sluice it with some water- not too much. 9. When this lot of breadcrumbs have sunk into the cassoulet, replenish with breadcrumbs for the last time and shove under the grill for 10 mins. Grate some Cheddar on top. Sounds like a hell of a bloody faff; believe me, it isn't if you dedicate a Sunday to doing it, and are cooking for friends. Serve with green salad and home made bread. Oh and.....nearly forgot:- 10. Ring Weight-Watchers!! 
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| judith |
Cheese?
On a cassoulet? 
What is the world coming to? |