Toulousain Cassoulet (Simplified)

1. Soak the beans overnight. They will at least double in size.
2. In large dutch oven, brown the sausage to get a good caramelized color on the outside. Set aside to be added back in later.
3. Rinse the soaked beans and add to the pot (500 grams of dried beans, once soaked, will yield about 1000 grams). Cover the soaked beans with double their weight, about 2-3 liters, of water. Cover and bring to a boil.
4. While the beans and water are heating up, prepare the vegetables and aromatics for that pot of beans.
5. Chop one whole carrot in large pieces, one onion, and two garlic cloves. Stud the whole onion with two cloves. Tie up a bouquet garni of 2-3 bay leaves, fresh thyme, celery leaf, and parsley stalks.
6. Add a piece of thick ventrêche or pancetta, salt pork, or bacon to the pot—about 150 grams or 6 ounces, along with all the prepared vegetables to the bean pot once it has started to boil; add a half-teaspoon of black peppercorns.
7. Turn the heat down to a rolling simmer and let the beans cook until just tender and the skins start to peel up when you blow on them. Depending on the age and size of your beans, this will take 45-60 minutes. The better you season your beans at this stage, the better your cassoulet will taste. But don’t add salt yet, as the pork belly can be salty enough.

Prepare the Meats while the beans cook:

1. While the beans and seasonings are cooking, prepare the meats that you will add to the cassoulet. Buy good quality fresh pork sausage and some duck confit if you like.
2. Add the whole sausages back in.
3. Add in some pre-cooked duck confit. (For six servings, I would use two to four duck legs, remove the bones, and pull the meat apart, leaving it in big chunks.)
4. Remove the ventrêche or salt pork from the beans and cut into small lardon-size pieces. You can brown these now or leave them to brown on the top of the cassoulet in the oven.
5. Heat the oven to 220°C/450°F.
6. Once the beans are cooked through, taste the bean broth for salt. This is the time you would salt lightly, especially if adding confit or other charcuterie that is already salted. Remove the carrot and onion and bouquet garni. I often chop up the carrot and return it to the beans.
7. Begin by placing a layer of beans across the bottom, place the browned sausage on top, and cover with another layer of beans. Now, put any other meat, the duck confit, etc, into this last layer and sprinkle the pork belly pieces across the top where the fat and skin will render further, brown, and help create a textured crust as it bakes. Add enough of the bean broth to just cover the beans and meat.
8. Bake the Cassoulet- 1.5-2 hours, checking periodically to make sure the liquid hasn’t all cooked off, or beans are sticking to the pan. You want a thickened broth in the end. Add more broth if needed during baking.
9. Serve with something fresh and green.