Cassoulet - in all its glory!

Having written about my top cookery books of the year, the receipe I'd like to start this revitalised blog with is not out of Bill's books - it's based on one I tore out of a BBC Good Food magazine years ago. I scanned it in years ago, and have been meaning to cook it for years, but there was something so daunting about cooking Cassoulet that I've never done it. It's one of those recipes that divides French people - different regions cook it differently and include different things - and the thought of stepping on ground previously covered by authoritative, knowledgeable, opinionated and argumentative French cooks is enough to make anyone hesitate. However, it did keep nagging at me and so I decided to go for gold and cook it for a (partly) French person, my dear friend Christine and a bunch of other friendly guinea pigs. I have a track record for setting myself up like this - my first Thanksgiving supper ever was cooked for Americans, I've baked biscotti for Italians and made Christmas lunch for my mother-in-law.. I like experimenting with new recipes and so I'll often try something new out on guests. Often it works, but occasionally it really doesn't..

Anyway, full of excitement and anticipation I researched all manner of different cassoulets on the web and in my cookbooks. The opinion of most contemporary food writers, however, was that while the dish was wonderful, it was also incredibly heavy. The Silver Palate talks about how apparently in France you can find signs on doors that translate as "closed on account of cassoulet". Now I'm hardly one to shy away from a bit of fat - running does have some compensations - but I didn't want to make something that was unappetisingly greasy or heavy. So I came back to the Good Food recipe, which promised a lighter version. Instead of using confit of duck or goose, you roasted the duck legs before putting them into the casserole. The other meats used are also somewhat leaner - there are no fatty cuts of mutton or pork, nor did I boil any pork rinds. I took some liberties with the recipe - I added more beans as I love them, and I used substituted pancetta for some of the belly pork as I just didn't like the thought of eating all those globules of fat. Though in the event I couldn't have picked out either the pancetta or the belly pork, so it may not have made much difference. Finally I did add one fattening detail - the good food version simply has you put some friend breadcrumbs on top of the cassoulet before serving it - I let this brown on top of the cassoulet while I reheated it. It was lovely and a worthwhile addition. So on y va!

Ingredients:

500 g. dried cannelini beans, soaked overnight (for readers in Lincoln, go to Sainsbury's, nowhere else has them)
1 onion, studded with a few cloves
1 bouquet garni which I made up out of a short bit of celery, 2 bay leaves and some sprigs of thyme and flatleaf parsley
4 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 toulouse sausages
4 duck legs
350 g. belly pork rashers, skinned and diced
1 pack of cubetti pancetta, I think this has about 140g. in it
2 tbsp goose fat
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 large carrot,roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
350 g. lamb neck fillet, chopped
350 g. boneless casserole pork, chopped
300 ml dry white wine
400 g. can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 heaped tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
1 heaped tbsp chopped fresh thyme

For the topping
1 day old baguette
2 fat garlic cloves, halved
4 tbsp goose fat
2 heaped tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
1 heaped tbsp chopped fresh thyme

Step 1
Drain and rinse the beans, tip into a large pan and cover generously with cold water. Bring to the boil and skim off the scum, then add the studded onion, the bouquet garni, half the garlic and lots of pepper. Stir, half cover and boil for 30 minutes, then add the sausages and boil for 30 minutes more. Stir occasionally and top up with water when necessary. (Don't worry if you think the beans aren't quite done - I boiled them for 15 mins longer and I think they were a bit overcooked, so stick with the recipe).

Step 2
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C/Gas7/fan oven 200C. Prick the duck all over with a fork and put on a rack in a roasting tin. Roast for 30 minutes, then remove and set aside. Lower the oven to 140C/Gas 1/fan oven 120C. When the beans have been cooking for 1 hour, tip them into a sieve; discard the onion and bouquet garni. Set sausages aside.

Step 3
Put the belly pork and cubetti pancetta in a 4 litre/ 7 pint flameproof dish or casserole pan and heat gently until the fat runs, then increase the heat and fry until just crispy. Lift out the pancetta and those bits of belly pork that haven't completely melted and add the poultry fat. Heat until sizzling, then add the onion, carrot, celery and remaining garlic, scraping up the bits from the base. Fry over a gentle heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate with the pancetta and belly pork.

Step 4
Increase the heat and add the lamb. Stir fry until coloured on all sides, then transfer to the plate and repeat with the pork. Tip the ingredients from the plate back into the dish. Add the wine and let it bubble, scraping up the bits from the base of the dish. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and herbs, then season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5
Add the haricot beans and 850ml water to the dish and bring to the boil. Stir, then lower the heat so the liquid is just simmering. Keep the mixture in the same dish to cook or transfer it to an earthenware dish. Remove the skin from the duck, then tuck the duck legs into the liquid. Peel off the sausage skins, slice the sausagemeat thickly on the diagonal and add to the dish.

Step 6
Cover the dish and bake for 1 hour, stirring once. Stir, then cook uncovered for a further 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring halfway, until the meat is really tender and the sauce thickened. Take the dish out of the oven and remove the duck legs, strip the meat from the bones (it will fall off easily) and return the meat to the dish. Stir and add a little water, if necessary.

Step 7
To make the topping:
Tear the bread into pieces and put in a food processor, Add the garlic and chop into coarse crumbs (you should have about 200g/8oz). Heat the fat in a large frying pan until sizzling, then stir fry the breadcrumbs and garlic over a moderate to high heat for 7-8 minutes until crisp and golden. Remove from the heat, toss in the herbs and stir to mix, then season well with salt and pepper.

Step 8
Give the cassoulet a good stir. The consistency should be quite thick, but not stodgy. If you prefer it slightly runnier, add a little water. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary, then sprinkle the topping over the surface in a thick, even layer. If you're going to go ahead and eat it now return it to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes until the topping is crunchy (if necessary, whack the grill on for 5 minutes at the end). If you want to prepare it ahead, make it up until the end of Step 6. Cool, cover and chill overnight. (The beans absorb liquid so you will need to add more water on reheating.) Before putting it in the oven with the topping on, make sure you've reheated it through (on the hob, probably) which takes a while (30 mins if you don't let it boil, which you shouldn't).

Enjoy!