Cassoulet de Castelnaudary

⏱ 270 min · Serves 6

The great slow-cooked bean pot of the Languedoc: creamy Tarbais beans simmered with pork rind, garlic sausage and confit duck, then baked until a golden crust forms and cracks under your spoon. A proper weekend project, and worth every hour.

Per serving: 1010 kcal · 66.0g protein · 58.0g carbs · 56.0g fat

Ingredients

• 600g dried Tarbais or cannellini beans, soaked overnight
• 200g pork rind (couenne), cut into strips
• 250g smoked streaky bacon or salt pork, in one piece
• 1 ham hock (about 700g), or a pork knuckle
• 4 confit duck legs
• 4 Toulouse sausages (about 500g)
• 300g pork shoulder, cut into 4cm chunks
• 2 onions, halved, one studded with 2 cloves
• 2 carrots, peeled and halved
• 1 whole head of garlic, cloves peeled (plus 2 extra, crushed)
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay, parsley stalks)
• 2.5 litres light chicken stock or water
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 60g coarse dry breadcrumbs (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Drain the soaked beans. Put the pork rind in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil for 5 minutes, drain and set aside.
2. In a large pot, combine the beans, ham hock, bacon piece, blanched pork rind, studded onion, carrots, bouquet garni and peppercorns. Cover with the stock, bring gently to the boil, skim, then simmer very gently for 1 hour until the beans are almost tender but still holding shape. Season lightly with salt near the end.
3. Meanwhile, scrape the fat from the confit duck legs into a frying pan and melt over medium heat. Brown the pork shoulder chunks all over, then the sausages until well coloured. Set aside.
4. Add the remaining onion, finely chopped, and all the garlic to the same pan, soften for 5 minutes, stir in the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes. Tip into the bean pot.
5. Lift out the ham hock and bacon. Shred the hock meat off the bone in large pieces, cut the bacon into thick lardons and return both to the beans along with the pork shoulder. Discard the carrots, onion and bouquet garni. Check seasoning — the broth should taste rich and well salted.
6. Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan. Line the base of a deep earthenware dish with the pork rind, fat side down. Spoon in half the beans and meat, sit the duck legs and sausages on top, then cover with the remaining beans. Pour in enough broth to just cover; reserve the rest.
7. Bake uncovered for 2 hours. As a crust forms on top, break it gently with the back of a spoon and press it down — do this 4 or 5 times, topping up with reserved broth whenever the beans look dry. Scatter the breadcrumbs over for the final 30 minutes if you like a firmer crust.
8. Rest for 20 minutes before serving straight from the dish, with a green salad and a robust red from the southwest.