A cassoulet is a humble, perfect-for-Fall French dish made of slow-cooked beans and meat. It's not fancy; we've heard it described as the kind of dish you find bubbling away in home kitchens. We've talked about cassoulets before (here's an excellent rundown of its components). But we found more good recipes to share, including a vegetarian version.
The cassoulet originated in Southwest France, and it is named for the cassole, the sloped-sided earthenware bowl it's cooked in (you can use a dutch oven).
• Brief History of the Cassole, from Saveur
It is traditionally made from more than one type of meat—maybe bacon and duck confit, pork sausage and goose... But of course modern recipes call for chicken or even just vegetables. Some of our favorite recipes we've seen lately have a crunchy blanket of breadcrumbs on top.
Recipes:
• Pork, Pancetta, and Duck Cassoulet, from Saveur
• Chicken Cassoulet with Crisp Breadcrumb Topping, from Martha Stewart
• Cassoulet in 10 Easy Steps, from The Amateur Gourmet
• Vegetarian Cassoulet, from Gourmet (above)
Do you have a favorite cassoulet recipe?
Related: Handy Pantry Staple: Duck Confit in Cans
(Image: Romulo Yanes/Gourmet)
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I know this isn't a "real" cassoulet, but I've made this a trillion times for crowds and it always gets rave reviews. The flavors are more complex, and the presentation more enticing, than you might expect from this relatively simple recipe.
Smoked Sausage Cassoulet at Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Smoked-Sausage-Cassoulet-101039
Anyone ever tried that vegetarian version? There are no reviews or comments or anything on the Gourmet site.
Next time you are served cassoulet in a home in France offer to take out the garbage. You might be surprised to find a can from whence came your homemade meal. There are at least two excellent canned products available.
@PunchNYC, well, please share the names of those brands!
I believe Julia Child has a recipe for cassoulet in her Master the Art of French Cooking cookbook. I just watched Julie Julia last night....a great movie!!
I made the vegetarian recipe above a couple of times last year and it is good. But you really do need a healthy sprinkling of the garlic crumbs with each serving -- it can taste a bit bland without it. I don't think I've ever had cassoulet with meat though so don't have a good basis for comparison.
Oh, also, there are 85 reviews for the recipe if you look it up on epicurious instead of gourmet.com.
After living in France for the last two + years, I've eaten a lot of cassoulet. The Julia Child recipe, while time consuming, is fantastic, although my French friends debate the addition of tomato paste (apparently, it's a Toulouse thing to add the tomato). I usually omit it now and have been happy with the results.
I can't say if the canned or jarred versions are "good" (never been tempted to try) but you do see them in many shops, both high and low end. The French don't really cook often nowadays, so I wouldn't be surprised if they generally use pre-made cassoulet (although, they'd likely serve something from Picard to guests as cassoulet is not considered very fancy).
Are the canned cassoulets available in the states?
Mark Bittman's quick cassoulet is very satisfying:
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/recipe-of-the-day-streamlined-cassoulet/
My mom comes from a little town 25 minutes from Castelnaudary, where the 'real' cassoulet is from (those guys from Toulouse are wrong). In her house, no one even bothers to make cassoulet. They use cans from La Belle Chaurienne, and add some confit de canard (canard) or confit d'oie (goose), add breadcrumbs and bake. and it's awesome. You look at the ingredients on this thing, it's basically homemade... @PunchNYC is def. right about the cans ;)
Vive la boite! Is La Belle Chaurienne the beige can with the burgundy lettering, Delete me? I've never seen canned cassoulet here. I suspect the cost of shipping it over - you can buy kilo cans - is prohibitive.
it s got a beige label on the tin can with black and burgundy lettering. don t know if this is what you are referring to, PunchNYC. I ve taken the cans back with me from France - you have to declare them to the agricultural customs in the U.S., but as a cooked, shelf-stable food, i've never had any problems... The cans are not cheap - but definitely worth it.