Cassoulet Is the Most Epic Dish You Will Ever Make (2024)

FAQs

Why is cassoulet so special? ›

Once a peasant staple, this ancient French casserole is a royal treat for Valley diners. Cassoulet's origins date to the Late Middle Ages, when French peasants threw white beans and whatever else was lying around into a clay cooking vessel called a cassole, which gives the dish its name.

cassoulet, French dish of white beans baked with meats; it takes its name from its cooking pot, the cassole d'Issel. Originating in Languedoc in southwest France, cassoulet was once simple farmhouse fare, but it has been elaborated into a rich and complex dish.

You can serve cassoulet on its own with a salad and bread on the side, but it's traditional to accompany it with something colorful . . . usually greens of some sort.

A proper cassoulet is loaded with fatty sausage, pork, duck fat, garlic, onion and salty-silky duck confit. The dish takes a full day to prepare, as the flavors are layered in and cooked low and slow. All of which is to say, cassoulet is no health food.

In South West France, cassoulet is more than king: it's God Himself. That's according to the celebrated belle epoque chef Prosper Montagné, anyway — and almost a century after he said it, no one's arguing. This humble bean stew is as much part of the cultural identity of the Occitanie region as rugby and red wine.

Cozy up with this rich, smoky stew brimming with chorizo and buttery white beans from Asturias—any night of the week. Spain is bean country. In Castile, whole meals revolve around giant judiones, butter beans cooked in thick, bacon-scented stock.

There are three types of cassoulet – the Holy Trinity. There's the 'Father' (pork and goose), the 'Son' (mutton and partridge), and the 'Holy Ghost' (sausage, mutton, and duck).

According to tradition, cassoulet was invented in 1355 in the town of Castelnaudary, under siege by the English during the Hundred Years' War. In medieval times the dish was referred to as an estouffet.

Roast Potatoes – Crispy roast potatoes are a great pairing with cassoulet. Cook with duck fat to add that real depth of flavour. Bread – Good quality fresh bread is always a winner with a French dish. Add bread as a side to add a bit of crunch and soak up the delicious sauce.

Light Dessert

A simple apple tart or raspberry sorbet are both tangy and sweet, and will balance the heaviness of the cassoulet. A lemon sorbet can provide a refreshing end to the meal and cleanse the palate, ready for some cheese or coffee to finish.

What does authentic cassoulet contain? ›

Cassoulet, a hearty slow-simmered stew of sausage, confit (typically duck), pork, and white beans, is one of the great hallmarks of French country cuisine. The best versions are cooked for hours until the beans and meat meld into a dish of luxuriant, velvety richness.

I need to get one thing off my chest right away: While you can use duck confit (or even goose) to make cassoulet, you don't have to. Here, I offer the option of plain old chicken thighs or raw duck legs.

Cassoulet does take time to make: there is overnight marinating and soaking, plus a long afternoon of roasting and simmering, and a few days on top of that if you make your own confit.

Castelnaudary is widely regarded as France's capital of cassoulet, and it's the only place in the world that can claim to hold the official recipe.

Cassoulet is not meant to be a dry, pasty bean dish. It should be saucy with the beans remaining mostly intact. This is achieved by trusting in the process. To prevent the dish from drying out, periodically add more of your pork stock.

Originating in the South of France, cassoulet is a profoundly hearty peasant dish that typically includes white beans, duck (or goose) confit, and sausage, through specific preparations vary from town to town. It also is supposed to take a couple of days to put together, as the flavors of the meat develop slowly.