Cassoulet

 Recipe from chef patrick

Ingredients :
The recipe of the A Sousceyrac restaurant (note of the corrector : this was the restaurant of the Chef Patrick Asfaux family)

I am aware that by publishing this cassoulet recipe I am certainly going to receive several letters telling me that it is not the true recipe for cassoulet. However, no cook has ever been able to publish a cassoulet recipe without bringing down the wrath of gourmet connaisseurs upon him. I would like to state in my favor that this recipe has been served in our family restaurant since 1923 and that it has frequently been described by France's greatest culinary guides as a reference. I now leave it to your own judgement...

Cassoulet recipe for 8 serious "customers":

For the beans:
1 kg (2.2 lb) dried beans: either white navy beans, kidney beans, mojettes, pamier beans or Soissons beans, but the absolute best would be "tarbais" beans.
2 peeled carrots
1 onion, spiked with 3 cloves
1 bouquet garni (thyme, laurel, parsley)
1 large pork rind, cut into 2 halves

Meat:
8 lamb neck cuts (for taste)
8 lamb shoulder pieces, cut into squares of 100 grams (3 oz) each
8 pork loin pieces, cut into 100 grams (3 oz) cubes
8 mule fat duck thighs cut in half
8 pieces, 5 cm (2 inches) each, of Toulouse sausage (scalded and roasted)

Other ingredients:
200 grams (1/2 lb) of carrots and 200 grams (1/2 lb) of onions cut into small cubes
6 garlic cloves, crushed and degermed
1 bouquet garni
2 tablespoonfulls concentrated tomato paste
150 grams (5 oz) goose fat
150 grams (5 oz) bread crumbs

Direction :
Soak the dry beans overnight in unsalted water.
Next day, put the beans in a large pot and cover them with new water, add the two carrots and the onion with the cloves, the bouquet garni and the pork rinds. Season with pepper and DO NOT SALT. Cook at a slow boil and do not forget to progressively skim the froth that forms on the surface.
Using a large ovenproof dish, sweat the vegetables: carrots, garlic, onions and the bouquet garni in some goose fat for 10 minutes, covering on low heat.
During this time use a large frying pan to brown all of the meats in some goose fat (until they are quite brown). Then retrieve and drain the pieces (in order to remove excess fat). Add tomato paste to the large casserole where you cooked the vegetable garnish.
Cook this mixture for 2 minutes and then add the meats and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place in the oven and cook at 350°F (180°C or th6), covered, for 2 hours.
Check if the beans are cooked. Once they are almost ready add salt and drain the beans (put the carrots in the large casserole that is already in the oven) and set aside.
Use a needle to check if the meats are well cooked. Next, use a fork and a skimmer to retrieve the meat and the bouquet garni. Be careful not to leave any small bones at the bottom of the dish. Remove excess fat from the remaining vegetables using a spoon. Mix these vegetables in a blender and then put through a sieve, pressing strongly in order to obtain a delicious vegetable sauce. Check and adjust the seasoning.
Put the meat, the beans, the sausage and the pork rinds, cut into 8 pieces, in a large terracota dish (better known as a "cassole" hence the name of this recipe "cassoulet") and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 375°F (210°C or th7) and serve.
Serve each guest yourself as only you know how you placed the meat in the dish.
Some say that in the countryside this dish used to be gratinated in the oven several times (even 8 times). At the end the spoon could stand upright in the cassoulet, wow !!!