Cassoulet (cass-oo-lay'), noun: A traditional French "casserole" with origins in the southwestern Languedoc region and usually containing white beans and several kinds of meat.
In our always humble opinion, cassoulet is THE comfort food. It's rich and creamy, and it will definitely stick to your ribs through a cold winter night!
The word "cassoulet" comes from the word "cassole," which is a shallow dish with slightly slanted sides - that is to say, a casserole dish! Every region has its own slightly-different version of cassoulet, but they all typically contain white beans and several varieties of meat. One of the meats is often confit, which is duck or goose meat that has been cooked, cooled, and preserved in its own fat.
Cassoulet benefits from long cooking at a relatively low heat, almost like a braise. Collagen from the meats dissolve into the broth, giving the dish richness and a silky mouthfeel. All the flavors melt together, so you get a bit of sweetness from the beans and a bit of savory from the meats and aromatics in every bite.
Drooling yet?! Here are some recipes if you'd like to try making it at home:
• Toulouse-style Cassoulet from Food and Wine
• Cassoulet from Epicurious
• Cassoulet from Fat by Jennifer McLagan via Serious Eats
Are you a fan of cassoulet?
Related: How to Cook Beans
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My husband makes sensational cassoulet. His has a wonderful, thick buttery crumb crust and a saucey, savoury bean and meat layer that is the perfect match for a robust red wine like amarone. Is it wrong that I love an Italian wine with a French classic? Who knows and who cares when the combo is so satisfying!
view Dana McCauley's profile
Wow! I was planning on making my first cassoulet this weekend for a French-themed Sunday dinner, and now this post really has me excited for it! I was looking at the version over at Amateur Gourmet (I don't have the link handy, but of course the writeup was hilarious.). Any opinion on which bean to use? Seems like cannellini is the standard, though I guess I'll go for Great Northern if I can't round any up.
view OneWallKitchen's profile
OneWall, I thought Great Northern and Cannellini were the same?
This sounds lovely and I'll definitely put it on my list of things to make sometime soon. Maybe Sunday for eating throughout what promises to be a BUSY week!
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
Do you know what recipe is associated with the main picture? I can't tell if those are potatoes or flat little pastas, but it looks YUM.
view GStelz's profile
I've made the version in the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook twice now. Incredibly tasty and wonderful, and it cooks in an afternoon, rather than a day.
One of the great things about that cookbook is it gives you the make-ahead stop point. We are a family of two, so we divide off half the recipe to freeze. So when you defrost it, there are still fresh ingredients to add, which means the dish avoids being "leftovers."
view feathers's profile
The first time I had cassoulet was at a cooking class given by Anthony Bourdain. It was divine. And so was he!
view ah-ha's profile
I've only had cassoulet from a can (imported by a friend from Toulouse) and it was amazing. I couldn't imagine how good a home-made one would be.
view Michelle of Montreal's profile
Tiamat--all I know is that the Cannellini beans I've seen are bigger than Great Northern ... maybe they just weren't so Great?
feathers--thanks for the heads-up on the ATK version; any do-aheads I can find would be helpful, considering how extensive this weekend's menu looks so far.
view OneWallKitchen's profile
GStelz, did you figure out those weren't potatoes or pasta, they are beans. Hence, the ingredients in cassoulet. :D
view Marbargarbo's profile