This recipe is based on authentic French cassoulet, using fresh and local ingredients
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
2.25 lbs. Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans
Whole onion studded with 4 whole cloves
3 Celery stalks with leaves
Large whole peeled carrot
4 Cloves garlic unpeeled
6 Parsley stems and leaves
3 Bay leaves
2 tsp.Thyme
1 tsp. Black pepper
1 Ham hock
1" Slice pancetta
Duck Confit:6 legs and thighs
Toulouse sausage: 6
Pork belly: quarter pound
Instructions:
Soak the beans overnight. Drain water and add fresh water, 3 times the volume of the beans. Add the herbs and vegetables, ham hock and pancetta and bring to a soft boil. The beans will take 45 minutes to an hour to cook. They should be just tender and not overcooked.
Prepping the beans: Remove the ham hock and pancetta, dice the meat and add back to the beans. Dice the carrot and onion, and remove the skins of the garlic and add to the beans. Remove spriogs of parsley and celery.
Brown the duck and sausages: Scrape the fat off the duck and use a little in the fry pan to brown the duck legs and the sausages. The sausages do not need to be completely cooked.
Assemble the cassoulet: place 1/2 of the bean mix in the bottom of the cassole. Add the duck legs and add more beans on top. Add a layer of sausage, and top with the remaining beans. Lay thin slices of pork belly on top.
Bake in a preheated 300' oven for 3 hours.
Remove when top is brown and crusty. Enjoy with green salad and red wine.