Cooking Light Cassoulet Recipes

HOW TO MAKE CASSOULET

Steps:

• Soak Great Northern beans in water in a large bowl overnight. Drain beans and place into a large soup pot. Push whole clove into the 1/2 onion and add to beans; stir in garlic, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and 10 cups water. Bring beans to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until beans have started to soften, about 1 hour. Drain beans and reserve the cooking liquid, removing and discarding onion with clove and bay leaf. Transfer beans to a large mixing bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cook bacon in a large, heavy Dutch oven over medium heat until lightly browned and still limp, about 5 minutes. Stir celery, carrots, and 1/2 diced onion into bacon; season with salt. Cook and stir vegetables in the hot bacon fat until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat; brown sausage link halves and duck confit in the hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes per side.
• Season vegetable-bacon mixture with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, cracked black pepper, and herbes de Provence; pour in diced tomatoes. Cook and stir mixture over medium heat until juice from tomatoes has nearly evaporated and any browned bits of food on the bottom of pot have dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir mixture into beans.
• Spread half the bean mixture into the heavy Dutch oven and place duck-sausage mixture over the beans; spread remaining beans over meat layer. Pour just enough of the reserved bean liquid into pot to reach barely to the top of the beans, reserving remaining liquid. Bring bean cassoulet to a simmer on stovetop and cover Dutch oven with lid.
• Bake bean cassoulet in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add 4 crushed garlic cloves, panko crumbs, and parsley to the melted butter. Season with salt and black pepper, and drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over crumbs. Stir to thoroughly combine.
• Uncover cassoulet and check liquid level; mixture should still have several inches of liquid. If beans seem dry, add more of the reserved bean liquid. Spread half the crumb mixture evenly over the beans and return to oven. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. There should be about 2 or 3 inches of liquid at the bottom of the pot; if mixture seems dry, add more reserved bean mixture. Sprinkle remaining half the bread crumb mixture over cassoulet.
• Turn oven heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake cassoulet, uncovered, until crumb topping is crisp, edges are bubbling, and the bubbles are slow and sticky, 20 to 25 more minutes. Serve beans on individual plates and top each serving with a piece of duck and several sausage pieces.

CASSOULET

Steps:

• Put beans in a large bowl, and cover with cold water, then add baking soda, and allow to soak overnight.
• Place the pork hocks, sliced pork belly, reserved pork skin and, if using, the pig ears into a stockpot, and fill with water to cover them by several inches, then set over high heat to come to a boil. Let the meats and skin blanch for 5 to 6 minutes, then remove from the water and allow to cool. Put the slices of pork belly on a plate, then dice the pork skin and, if using, julienne the pig ears, and add these to the plate. Cover, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
• Now turn to the cooled pork hocks and the duck legs. In a small bowl, combine four-spice powder with ground cardamom, ground coriander, additional nutmeg, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Use this spice mixture to season the duck legs and the cooled pork hocks, then put them on a platter, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
• Heat oven to 350. Melt the duck fat or duck fat and lard in a heavy, oven-safe pot deep enough to hold the duck legs, pork hocks and the three heads of garlic, then add the meats and the garlic to it, along with the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and star anise, then place in the oven to simmer for approximately an hour and a half, or until both the duck and the pork are cooked tender and soft and the heads of garlic have almost collapsed. Remove the meats and the garlic from the fat, and allow to cool slightly. (Strain and reserve the perfumed duck fat for another use - more duck confit, say, or to cook potatoes. It will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for quite some time.)
• Drain soaked beans. Put around 5 quarts of water in a large, heavy-bottomed pot, then add the beans, along with the bouquet garni, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to a simmer, and cook until the beans are softening but not cooked through, approximately 30 minutes. Reserve the beans and cooking liquid separately. Discard bouquet garni.
• Meanwhile, return pot to medium heat, and add to it 2 tablespoons of the reserved duck fat. When it shimmers, add the garlic sausages to the pot, and sauté until lightly browned, approximately 5 minutes, then remove and reserve. Add the diced carrots, celery, celery root, turnip and rutabaga to the pot, and sweat them slowly in the fat, stirring often, until they begin to soften, approximately 10 minutes. Add the partly cooked beans to the pot, along with the reserved diced pork skin and the ears if you're using them, then the tomato paste, and stir to combine.
• As the vegetables sweat, remove the bones from the cooled pork hocks, and squeeze the heads of garlic to release the garlic confit within. Add both to the bean pot.
• Add enough of the reserved bean-cooking water to the bean pot to just cover the beans, then nestle the duck legs, the sausages and the slices of pork belly on top of the beans. Put the pot in the oven to simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, or until the beans are cooked through.
• Increase oven heat to 450, and cook until the beans are bubbling and crusted around the edges and the meats are deeply crisp on top (about 10-15 minutes). Let rest 10 minutes or so before serving.

CASSOULET

Steps:

• Drain the beans and put into a large heavy casserole, preferably enameled cast iron, with bacon, pork rind, garlic, 1 onion, the carrot, and the bouquet garni. Cover with the 10 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring often, until beans are barely tender, about 1 hour. Drain and return to casserole, discarding onion and bouquet garni.
• Add the remaining onion, the duck legs, demi-glace mixture, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
• Drain the bean mixture in a colander over a bowl and reserve 5 cups of the cooking liquid. Discard bacon and pork rind. Remove the duck legs and cut each in half at the joint. Season beans with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of pepper.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place half the bean mixture in casserole. Add duck legs, duck sausage, and garlic sausage, and cover with remaining beans. Add reserved cooking liquid and drizzle the duck fat over the top. Cover and bake until hot and bubbling, about 2 hours. (Cassoulet may be prepared ahead to this point, then cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before proceeding).
• Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Uncover cassoulet and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

CHICKEN CASSOULET

Steps:

• Heat 1 T olive oil in a large skillet with an ovenproof handle, over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to med-high. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste and add it to the skillet, skin side down; cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until browned. Turn the chicken and cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes or until browned.
• Meanwhile, finely chop the onion (about 1 C). Finely chop the rosemary (about 1 1/2 t) and the thyme (about 1 1/2 t). Combine the rosemary and thyme in a bowl. Press the garlic (about 1 T plus 1 t) into the bowl. Rinse and drain the beans then mash 1 C of the beans into a separate small bowl with a fork.Set the rest of the whole beans aside. Cut the kielbasa in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/2 inch thick pieces.
• Remove the chicken to a plate and drain off all but 1 T of the fat from the skillet. Reduce heat to med-low and add the onions and cook for 5 minutes or until it has softened. Add the herb and garlic mixture and cook for 2 minutes. Add the red wine and simmer over low heat until it has reduced by half.
• Return the chicken to the skillet along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Add the kielbasa, chicken stock, both the mashed beans and the whole beans and the mustard. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the chicken has just cooked through. While the chicken is cooking, preheat the broiler.
• Toss the bread crumbs with the remaining 1 T olive oil. Remove the lid from the skillet and season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top. Put the skillet under the broiler, about 4 inches from the heat source, and broil for 45 to 60 seconds, or until the crumbs are golden. When you serve the cassoulet, sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over each serving.

LIGHTER CASSOULET

Steps:

• Put the beans in a very large bowl. Pour over 3 times their volume of water so they are well covered, as they will soak up a lot. Cover with cling film and leave to soak overnight.
• Tip the beans into a large colander to drain, discarding the water. Put them in a large, deep saucepan and cover with fresh cold water (about 2 litres), so it is about 3cm above the beans. Add 3 of the garlic cloves, 2 thyme sprigs and 1 rosemary sprig. Bring to the boil, half cover the pan with its lid and keep on a very gentle simmer for 1 ½ hrs, checking the water level occasionally. Cut the gammon into lardon-sized pieces. Put the lardons in with the beans, checking there is still enough water to cover everything. Simmer for a further 30 mins.
• Wrap the remaining thyme and rosemary sprigs in the bay leaf and tie with string to make a bouquet garni. Heat the oil in a large, deep ovenproof sauté pan or flameproof casserole dish. Put the onion and carrot in the pan and fry gently on a medium heat for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Finely chop the remaining 4 garlic cloves. Melt the butter in the pan, add the garlic and fry for 2 mins. Increase the heat, add the pork shoulder and fry for 2-3 mins until it is no longer pink. Pour in the wine and let it bubble for 1 min until slightly reduced. Stir in the tomatoes, tuck in the bouquet garni and simmer for 3 mins until saucy. Season well with pepper and 2 pinches of salt. Remove and set aside.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Drain the beans in a large colander set over a large bowl so you can reserve the cooking liquid (you should have about 850ml). Remove and discard the herb stems. Squash the softened garlic cloves with a spoon, then stir through the beans and lardons. Tip this mixture into the pan with the pork shoulder, then pour in 600ml of the reserved cooking liquid. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 mins until you have a moist, soupy consistency.
• Meanwhile, lay the sausages on a small non-stick baking tray and roast for 20 mins, turning halfway through, until brown. Remove, cut into 1cm-thick diagonal slices and lower the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
• Tuck the sausage slices into the beans, transfer the cassoulet to the oven and bake for 11/2 hrs, uncovered. Meanwhile, mix together the panko crumbs, garlic, lemon zest, oil and some pepper. By now the meat should be almost tender and the cassoulet moist and juicy, not dry. (If necessary, pour in some of the reserved cooking liquid.) Scatter the crumb mix over and return to the oven for 20-25 mins until the topping is golden.