Cassoulet

Traditional French Cassoulet

A slow-baked casserole from southwest France combining creamy white beans with duck confit, pork sausage, and aromatic vegetables. Built up in layers, it develops a rich crust that is broken and reformed several times during cooking - the hallmark of an authentic cassoulet.

Prep

40 min

Cook

240 min

Total

280 min

Serves

6 to 8

Difficulty

Hard

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) dried white beans (Tarbais or cannellini), soaked overnight in cold water with a pinch of salt
• •1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) duck confit legs, use 2 legs per 3–4 people; homemade preferred, store-bought acceptable
• •400 g (14 oz) fresh pork sausage (Toulouse-style), or other coarse pork sausage; do not pre-cook
• •300 g (10½ oz) pork belly or pork shoulder, cut into 5 cm / 2 inch pieces
• •2 whole onions, one stuck with 2 cloves, one finely diced
• •2 whole carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• •1 whole leek, split and rinsed
• •6 cloves garlic, crushed
• •400 g (14 oz) tomatoes, fresh, peeled and crushed, or 1 can of good-quality plum tomatoes
• •1 tbsp tomato paste
• •1 whole bouquet garni, thyme, bay leaf, parsley stems tied together
• •2 l (8½ cups) light chicken or duck stock, enough to cover the beans; adjust as needed
• •200 g (7 oz) fresh breadcrumbs, from a day-old baguette
• •60 ml (¼ cup) duck fat, melted, for topping
• •1 tsp fine sea salt, adjust to taste
• •1/2 tsp (½ tsp) black pepper, freshly ground

Steps

1. 1 Drain the soaked beans and place them in a large pot. Cover with cold water, add the clove-studded onion, carrots, leek, half the garlic, and the bouquet garni. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans are just tender but still holding their shape. Do not salt yet - salting early toughens the skins. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and discard the vegetables and aromatics.
2. 2 While the beans cook, warm a heavy oven-safe casserole (a traditional cassole is clay, but a Dutch oven works) over medium heat. Add the pork belly pieces and render their fat slowly for 8–10 minutes until lightly browned on all sides. Push to the sides.
3. 3 Add the sausages whole and brown gently on all sides for 6–8 minutes - they will finish cooking in the oven. Remove sausages and pork and set aside.
4. 4 Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Add the diced onion and remaining crushed garlic to the pot and cook gently for 6–8 minutes until soft and translucent.
5. 5 Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes until darkened, then add the crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes to concentrate the flavor.
6. 6 Preheat the oven to 150°C / 300°F (gas mark 2).
7. 7 Combine the cooked beans with the tomato base in the casserole. Nestle in the pork belly, sausages, and duck confit legs. Pour over enough warm stock to come about 2 cm / ¾ inch above the beans - it should look brothy, not dry. Season with salt and pepper.
8. 8 Bring just to a simmer on the stovetop, then transfer to the oven, uncovered. Bake for 2 hours.
9. 9 After 1 hour: remove the casserole, gently press the back of a spoon onto the surface to break the forming crust, then ladle a little of the liquid from around the edges over the top. This is the classic technique that gives cassoulet its layered texture.
10. 10 Repeat the crust-breaking two more times at 30-minute intervals. After 2 hours of baking, the beans should be creamy and the liquid thickened to a loose stew.
11. 11 If the cassoulet is still soupy, raise the oven to 180°C / 350°F and bake uncovered for a further 20–30 minutes. The final consistency should be creamy and just loose enough to flow slowly when the dish is tilted.
12. 12 Mix the breadcrumbs with the melted duck fat. Scatter evenly over the surface and return to the 180°C / 350°F oven for 10–15 minutes until the top is golden and crisp.
13. 13 Rest the cassoulet for at least 15 minutes before serving. It is traditionally eaten directly from the communal dish, accompanied by a robust red wine from the southwest such as Madiran or Corbières. Leftovers reheat well the next day.