Cassoulet Français
This must be the world’s most sumptuous version of baked beans. I have simplified the original recipe so it can be assembled two days ahead of serving.
Ingredients
The Beans
- 16 cups chicken stock
- 6 cups small white beans dry
- 5½ ounces tomato paste
- 1 large garlic clove crushed
- ¼ teaspoon basil
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- Pepper
The Meat
- ¾ pound salt pork cut into small cubes
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3¼ pounds pork butt trimmed of fat and cut into 1½ inch cubes
- 20 chicken thighs skinned
- 1 pound pork sausage non-garlic
Instructions
The Beans
- Two days ahead of serving, bring chicken stock to boil in a large heavy casserole. Drop in the beans, cover and simmer for about 1ó hours to 2 hours until just tender. Don’t overcook — the beans will be mushy. Remove to a large bowl, drain and reserve the stock. You should have about 9 cups of stock; if short, add more chicken stock to make up the difference. Add tomato paste, garlic, herbs and pepper to the stock and stir. Put stock mixture into a container, seal and refrigerate. Refrigerate the beans separately.
The Meat
- Rinse salt pork well to remove excess salt, then sauté in large skillet with the onion until golden. Set aside. Put a little salad oil into same skillet and sauté pork cubes until browned. Set aside with salt pork. Add more oil to pan and brown chicken thighs. Set aside. Slice sausage into thin slices; set aside.In a large casserole, place a thin layer of beans, arrange a third of the pork sausage on top, then a third of the salt pork mixture and a third of the chicken thighs. Repeat these lay- ers twice more, ending with a layer of beans. There should be four layers of beans and three layers of the meats. Cover and refrigerate.About 3 to 3½ hours before serving, pour reserved chicken stock over the bean mixture in the casserole until the stock just covers the beans. Cover and bake at 350 ℉ for 2 hours. Sprinkle top with the following mixture: 1½ cups fine breadcrumbs blended with 4 tablespoons of butter. Bake uncovered for about one more hour or until cassoulet is thick, bubbly and still slightly moist on the inside. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve triumphantly.Note: Check cassoulet after 2½ hours to see if it is thickened but still moist. If it looks a little dry, add more stock. If you are cooking only half quantities bake only for 1½ hours covered, then sprinkle with crumb mixture and bake for one more hour. Check on its progress after 40 minutes. To serve leftovers the next day, you may need to add more stock or tomato juice. Leftovers can also be frozen.
