Classics · French

Cassoulet

Name: Cassoulet
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 500 g Dried white beans; 4 szt Duck legs; 400 g Raw white sausage; 200 g Smoked bacon (whole piece); 2 szt Onion; 6 szt Garlic cloves; 2 szt Carrot; 2 łyżka Tomato paste; 1500 ml Chicken broth; 3 szt Bay leaf; 1 łyżeczka Dried thyme; 1 łyżeczka Salt; 1 łyżeczka Black pepper; 100 g Breadcrumbs; 3 łyżka Chopped parsley

Time

45'

+ 2h 30' chilling

Diff.

medium

Kcal

720

/ serving

Servings

Gather 15 ingredients before cooking

Scale

Units

01 You'll need check when you have it

02 To finish last minute: ~60 min window

Step 01 of 08

Soak the beans

500 g

Cover dried white beans (500 g) with cold water by 5 cm. Leave overnight.

Tip

Without soaking the beans take 3 hours instead of 1 and often fall apart on the outside before the inside softens.

Step 02 of 08

Brown the duck

4 szt

1 łyżeczka

Pat duck legs (4 szt) dry. Season with salt (1 łyżeczka) and black pepper (1 łyżeczka). Place legs skin-down on a cold, dry pan and turn heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes until skin is golden and fat has rendered. Flip and cook 3 minutes more. Remove to a plate. Keep the fat in the pan — it's the flavor base.

Tip

Starting from a cold pan lets the fat under the skin render before the meat seizes up. Otherwise the skin stays rubbery.

Step 03 of 08

Brown bacon and sausage

200 g

400 g

Dice smoked bacon (whole piece) (200 g) into 1 cm cubes. Cut raw white sausage (400 g) into 3 cm pieces. Add bacon to the pan with the duck fat, cook 5 minutes until browned. Add sausage and cook 5 more minutes, turning. Transfer everything to the plate with the duck.

Step 04 of 08

Cook the vegetables

2 szt

6 szt

2 łyżka

Dice onion (2 szt). Grate carrot (2 szt) on the large holes. Chop garlic cloves (6 szt). Add onion and carrot to the pan (there should still be plenty of fat from the previous steps). Cook 8 minutes on medium until the onion is soft and golden. Add garlic and tomato paste (2 łyżka), cook 2 minutes while stirring. The paste needs to fry — raw, it tastes sour and harsh.

Step 05 of 08

Simmer everything together

500 g

1500 ml

3 szt

1 łyżeczka

4 szt

200 g

400 g

Drain dried white beans (500 g) from the soaking water. Transfer the vegetables from the pan to a large pot. Add beans, bay leaf (3 szt), dried thyme (1 łyżeczka) and pour in chicken broth (1500 ml). Return duck legs (4 szt), smoked bacon (whole piece) (200 g) and raw white sausage (400 g). Bring to a boil, reduce to low and cook with the lid ajar for 60 minutes. The beans should be soft but still hold their shape.

Tip

Don't salt at this stage. Salt added to still-hard beans keeps the skins from softening.

Step 06 of 08

Season

1 łyżeczka

Taste. Add salt (1 łyżeczka) and black pepper (1 łyżeczka) as needed. The broth, bacon and sausage are already salty — taste first, then season.

Step 07 of 08

Bake under a crust

100 g

Preheat oven to 160°C°C (top-bottom). Transfer everything from the pot to an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the top with an even layer of breadcrumbs (100 g). Bake for 60 minutes. Every 20 minutes, pull it out and gently break the crust with a spoon — a new one forms and the sauce comes back up. This gives cassoulet its character: multiple layers of crispy crust.

Step 08 of 08

Serve

3 łyżka

Sprinkle with chopped parsley (3 łyżka). Serve straight from the dish with a slice of dark bread.

Bon appétit

How did it turn out?

Enjoy — now it's a matter of patience and a good table.

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