“Cassoulet, that best of bean feasts, is everyday fare for a peasant but ambrosia for a gastronome.” ~ Julia Child When winter heads our way, bringing chilly temperatures and close, dark nights, my thoughts turn to Cassoulet, the iconic comfort food from southwestern France. It has it all – juicy beans, duck leg confit, sausages and sometimes pork or lamb, slowly simmered in well-seasoned broth, then baked in a wide-mouthed, glazed terra-cotta dish called a cassole . Like any truly traditional dish, there are multiple versions, all claiming to be the “authentic one.” Cassoulet originated in southwestern France. Toulouse claims it — and so does Castelnaudary and Carcassonne — and the recipes vary. Toulouse adherents eschew adding cubed pork. Castelnaudary purists add a bit of lamb, while Carcassonne’s adds partridge. In most restaurants, cassoulets are served in an individual cassole , bubbling with hot juices,and with a bit of duck leg peeking through the top. But at Hostellerie Etienne , a vast indoor- outdoor restaurant on the edge of a forest near Castelnaudary, the cassoulets come to the table in family-size cassoles , big enough to serve two, four, six or even 10 people, so you can share the dish with your dining companions. I don’t know if Etienne’s even has a single-serving bowl size. I didn’t see one, when I was there as the guest of a bean trader from Castelnaudary. According to him, Etiennne’s has the best cassoulet anywhere, and they use the Lauragais lingot beans known as the Castelnaudary bean. Copious doesn’t begin to describe the cassoulet scene there, with stacks of cassoles lined up in Etienne’s kitchen, next to caldrons of simmering beans, ready to be filled and popped into the vast ovens. Here in the Bay Area, we have our own go-to restaurants for cassoulets. Some, like the Left Bank Brasseries in San Jose, Menlo Park, Oakland and Larkspur, and Reve Bistro in Lafayette, only serve it during the winter months as a special. (Reve will be serving cassoulet Dec. 10-14, for example, and Jan. 7-11; reserve it when you reserve your table.) Others, such as Bistro Jeanty in Yountville and Le Central in San Francisco, always have it on the menu. Both Reve Bistro and Bistro Jeanty use cassoles made by potter Kathy Kernes at her Crockett Pottery in Crockett, and they are every bit as beautiful and as practical as those you’ll find in southwestern France. Kernes’ makes cassoles in six sizes ($38-$210), ranging from individual to “extra large plus,” which is very large indeed. (Browse the possibilities at www.crockettpottery.com.) Reve Bistro offers take-out cassoulets if you pre-order the week the dish is on the menu. Pick it up — in a takeout container, not a cassole! — then heat it at home. Just note that chef-owner Paul Magu-Lecugy only makes a limited number of portions. “It’s time consuming,” he says, noting for him, it is a two-day process. Le Central’s cassoulet is one of the more elaborate around, with lamb, pork shoulder and boudin blanc, as well as the all-important duck leg confit and slightly garlicky Toulouse sausage. Left Bank uses chef-owner Roland Passot’s recipe (see below) and keeps it simple, limiting the meats to duck leg confit and Toulouse sausages. (Don’t panic. If you’re making this at home, some specialty markets sell duck confit.) The beans are key to cassoulet. Once cooked, they should not be mushy, but hold their shape after the long cooking. In France, tradition calls for either Tarbais beans, a plump, white bean, or lingot beans — a strain of cannellini beans — in making cassoulet. As Passot suggests in his recipe below, you can substitute cannellini beans or Great Northern beans. Rancho Gordo produces a variety called cassoulet , a West Coast-grown bean from the Tarbais strain. Cassoulet isn’t difficult to make. It just requires time and patience. You can make it a couple of days ahead, refrigerate it and then slowly reheat it. That way, there’s nothing to do on the day of but sip a glass of wine while the beans and meats slowly heat to bubbling. Add a green salad and some crusty bread, and you’ll have the perfect winter meal. Or put your coat on and head to one of our local restaurants, where the cooking is done for you. All you need is a reservation. Serves 6 to 8 Beans: 4 cups dried lingot beans (white kidney, cannellini or Great Northern, will all work) 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped 1 small onion, diced (about 3⁄4 cup) 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 pound slab bacon or extra thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 sprigs of thyme 1 bay leaf Cassoulet: 1⁄4 cup duck fat (lard will do in a pinch) 2 pounds pork butt cut in 2-inch cubes 1 cup onions, diced small 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1⁄4 cup tomato paste 1 small can diced tomatoes 11⁄2-2 cups reserved bean water 6 Toulouse sausages 1 small garlic sausage 4 confit duck legs, purchased or homemade (see note below) 1 cup panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Note: If you are making your own duck confit, start the night before by rubbing the duck legs with a “green salt” mixture — kosher salt, parsley, a couple of bay leaves and thyme ground together. The next day, rinse the duck legs well, pat dry and place in an oven-safe cooking vessel with enough duck fat to cover the legs. Roast in a 225-degree oven for 21⁄2 to 3 hrs. The night before, place the beans in a deep pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Let beans soak overnight. The next day, rinse the beans well. Add the rinsed beans, carrots, onions, garlic, bacon, thyme and bay leaf to cold water and cook, over low heat, until the beans are tender. Strain the beans, saving the water, and set aside the beans. In a large braising pan, melt the duck fat over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, brown the pork butt pieces without stirring. When beginning to brown, start stirring, making sure you scrape the bottom if it starts to caramelize. The pork doesn’t need much color, but it does need to cook in the duck fat for a while. Add lots of salt and pepper. This is not a shy dish. When the pork is nice and brown on all sides, add the 1 cup onions and garlic, and sauté until the onions are soft and cooked through. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and reserved liquid from the beans. Stir, using a rubber spatula to clean the side of the pot. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Bring the heat under the braising pan up to high. Once at a rolling boil, turn down to low heat and add all the sausages. When they are cooked through, remove and set aside. Slice the garlic sausage in half and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return the whole and sliced sausages back to the pot along with the cooked beans. Continue to cook on low heat until the pork is cooked through. Taste for seasoning; add more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the beans and pork to a heavy, wide mouth, earthenware, clay or cast iron baking dish that can hold 5 to 6 quarts. Bake at 250 degrees for about 11⁄2 hours, checking at least every 30 minutes. It may require a bit more time. If the dish is starting to look too dry, add a small amount of reserved bean broth or chicken stock. Add warmed duck legs to the cassoulet and make a breadcrumb topping by combining the panko, garlic, parsley, thyme and extra virgin olive oil. Return the dish to the oven and continue baking until the crumbs brown on the top. — Courtesy Roland Passot, Propriétaire, Chef Culinary Officer, Vine HospitalityDaily Post Nigeria Don’t succumb to influences of disgruntled politicians — Ebonyi APC chairman warns workers Home News Politics Metro Entertainment Sport Politics Don’t succumb to influences of disgruntled politicians — Ebonyi APC chairman warns workers Published on December 5, 2024 By Casmir Nwankwo The chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ebonyi State, Mr Stanley Okoro Emegha, has called on Ebonyi workers not to allow those he described as disgruntled politicians to manipulate them into joining forces against the present administration in the state. The chairman, who x-rayed the notable achievements of Governor Francis Nwifuru in the area of welfare and human capital development, stated that the governor was the first person under the present democratic dispensation to increase workers’ take-home package even before the negotiation of the new national minimum wage of N70,000. Disclosing this in a statement, Emegha added: “I wish to admonish workers to always employ dialogue in ironing out issues of interest rather than applying archaic and immature measures to frustrate the state government and make mockery of themselves under a system whereby their welfare is in the first-line charge.” According to him: “In all honesty, the recent and aborted industrial action embarked upon by Ebonyi State civil servants does not only reflect their weaknesses and ability to retrace their steps on the instruction of the leader of the state and Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru but it also raised a significant concern bothering on who actually played the drum. “In as much as their recent action, despite the commendable efforts of the governor towards increasing their take-home, apart from other incentives, remains unwarranted and odious. I wish to ask them whether they were more comfortable with the era of executive rascality, impunity, and abandonment. “To say that civil servants in Ebonyi State could contemplate embarking on strike just because some of their leaders succumbed to the undue pressure from greedy, malicious and uncircumcised politicians is difficult to comprehend because Governor Nwifuru has done exceptionally well in changing their narrative through several means. “Firstly, the Governor increased their salaries by 20%, awarded one hundred thousand naira as a Christmas bonus last year to each of them among other incentives. He is the first person under the present democratic dispensation to increase workers’ take-home package even before the negotiation of the new national minimum wage of N70,000. He did not only give his consent to it but he increased it to N75,000. “Apart from these interventions aimed at cushioning the effect of economic downturn in the country, the civil servants also benefit from numerous government empowerment programs. “Recall also that His Excellency, the Governor, voluntarily, on assumption of office, paid the gratuities arrears of all the state retired civil servants from 1996 to 2023 and currently working assiduously hard to ensure that local government workers get theirs soon. “Although it is heartwarming that they have come with the directive of the Governor and have since returned to their various duty posts, which is a sign of gratitude to the numerous incentives they are enjoying presently in the state, they should not allow a few disgruntled politicians whose relevance have since died a natural death to hoodwink or manipulate them into carrying out their mischievous and spiteful plans against their wishes and the state government. “Through words and actions, the governor has reiterated that the civil service is the engine room of government and would not relent in charting a course that will improve the well-being of the state workforce. This is also contained in his People’s Charter of Needs agenda, compass of the administration.” Emegha commended Governor Nwifuru for always “taking a firm and proactive posture in addressing headlong matters of importance to the state and her good people.” Related Topics: Ebonyi APC Stanley Okoro Emegha Don't Miss Zamfara APC rejects state’s 2025 budget proposal You may like Defection: Ebonyi APC chair assures PDP, LP, others of equal treatment Economic Hardship: Let’s go back to farming – Ebonyi APC Chairman advises Nigerians Supreme Court Judgement: Close ranks with govt to develop Ebonyi – APC to opposition Rerun election: Ebonyi APC zones senatorial seat to Onicha LGA I’ll be governor for all – Ebonyi APC governor-elect, Nwifuru vows APC chairman, Okoro, 171 ward councillors trade words over LG election nullification Advertise About Us Contact Us Privacy-Policy Terms Copyright © Daily Post Media Ltd