Cassoulet de Toulouse

Serves: 4
Total Time: Overnight soaking for beans plus 6 hours

The Cassoulet de Toulouse is a rich French dish prepared with beans, pork belly and sausages: a slow-cooked casserole originating in the city of Toulouse.

Ingredients

• 300g, white beans, drained
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 diced onions
• 1 bouquet garni
• 1 peeled carrot
• 4 diced tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 250g, lamb shoulder, diced
• 250g, pork belly with skin, diced
• 2  confit goose legs (with fat)
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 250g sausage
• 150g toasted breadcrumbs

Directions

1Soften the beans overnight in cold water. Retain the water.

2Stick the cloves and the bay leaf in one of the onions and place it in a pot along with the beans, the bouquet garni, the carrot, the tomatoes and one garlic clove.

3Cover with water and cook on a medium heat for 1.5 to 2 hours.

4Scoop off the foam and if necessary add some more water.

5Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C in a fan oven), gas 3.

6Fry the lamb and the pork in 2 tbsp hot goose fat (from the confit).

7Add the diced onion and the garlic and fry for a few minutes.

8Deglaze with some of the water from the beans and add the thyme.

9Cover and braise slowly on a low heat for around 1 hour.

10Fry the sausages in 1 tbsp hot oil until brown.

11Remove the onion, the bouquet garni, the carrot and the garlic from the beans and transfer everything to a cassole.

12Place half the beans in the dish, add the meat in layers then top with the rest of the beans.

13Sprinkle with half the breadcrumbs and bake for around 1.5 hours.

14Stir carefully every 30 min and add the remaining breadcrumbs during the last 15 mins.

15Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Fine Dining Lovers