Julia Child's Cassoulet
Watching the cassoulet scene in "After the Hunt," our mind went right to the French Chef's classic recipe
Julia Child: Cassoulet is a rich combination of beans baked with meats, as much a part of southwestern France as Boston baked beans are of New England. The composition of a cassoulet is, in typical French fashion, the subject of infinite dispute, so much so that if you have read or heard about cassoulet and never tasted it, you come to expect a kind of rare ambrosia rather than the nourishing country fare it actually is. As cassoulet is native to a relatively large region of France, each part of which has its own specialties, arguments about what should go into this famous dish seem based on local traditions. Toulousains insist that it must include among its meats preserved goose, confit d’oie, or it is not a real cassoulet. After all, something must be done with all the geese which housed the foie gras, and cassoulet is a natural solution in the Toulouse area. Then there are those who declare the cassoulet was born in Castelnaudary, and originally contained only beans, pork, and sausages. A heretical few suggest the cassoulet was not a French invention at all, but an adaption from the Arab fava bean and mutton stew. And so on, with variations and dogmatisms rampant. Fortunately all the talk can be regarded as so much historical background, for an extremely good cassoulet can be made anywhere out of beans and whatever of its traditional meats are available: goose, game, pork, sausages, lamb, mutton. The important item is flavor, which comes largely from the liquid the beans and meats are cooked in. And truth to tell, despite all the to-do about preserved goose, once it is cooked with the beans you may find difficulty in distinguishing goose from pork.
The following recipe makes no attempt to cut corners, for the concoction of a good cassoulet is a fairly long process. You can prepare it in one day, but two or even three days of leisurely on-and-off cooking are much easier. It calls for a roast loin of pork, shoulder of lamb braised in wine, homemade sausage cakes, and beans cooked with pork rind, fresh bacon or salt pork, and aromatic vegetables. The meats are cut into serving pieces and arranged in a casserole with the beans and various cooking juices. Then the dish is baked in the oven for an hour to blend flavors. Time could be saved if the lamb were roasted whole or if leftover roast were used, but flavor would be lost, and there would be no splendid braising liquid to give character to the cassoulet. Polish sausage could cook with the beans, replacing the homemade sausage cakes. But after you have made the dish once or twice, you will see that you can pretty well invent your own formula as long as you supply excellent flavor through one means or another. Suggestions for other meats are at the end of the recipe.
From Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume 1, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. Reprinted by permission of Knopf and The Julia Child Foundation.
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Cassoulet De Porc Et De Mouton
Beans Baked with Pork Loin, Shoulder of Mutton or Lamb, and Sausage
Makes 10 to 12 servings
For the pork loin
2½ pounds of boned pork loin, excess fat removed (It will taste even better if marinated overnight in salt and spices; see page 376 in the book.)
Following directions on page 380 (in the book), roast the pork to an internal temperature of 175 to 180 degrees. Set it aside to cool. Reserve cooking juices.
For the Beans
2 pounds or 5 cups dry white beans (Great Northern, preferably)
An 8-quart kettle containing 5 quarts of rapidly boiling water
½ pound fresh pork rind or salt pork rind
A heavy saucepan
Heavy shears
Drop the beans into the boiling water. Bring rapidly back to the boil and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let the beans soak in the water for 1 hour; they will cook in the soaking water, and the cooking should proceed as soon as possible after the soaking process is completed.
While the beans are soaking, place the rind in the saucepan and cover with 1 quart of cold water. Bring to the boil and boil 1 minute. Drain, rinse in cold water, and repeat the process. Then, with shears, cut the rind into strips ¼ inch wide; cut the strips into small triangles. Cover the rind again with a quart of cold water, bring to the simmer, and simmer very slowly for 30 minutes. Set saucepan aside. This process freshens the rind and softens it so it will lose itself as it cooks with the beans.
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A 1-pound chunk of fresh, unsalted, unsmoked lean bacon (or very good quality lean salt pork simmered for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water and drained)
1 cup (4 ounces) sliced onions
The pork rind and its cooking liquid
A large herb bouquet, with garlic and cloves: 6 to 8 parsley sprigs, 4 unpeeled cloves garlic, 2 cloves, ½ teaspoon thyme, and 2 bay leaves tied in cheesecloth
No salt until later if you have used salt pork; otherwise 1 tablespoon salt
Place all the above ingredients in the kettle with the soaked beans. Bring to the simmer. Skim off any scum which may rise. Simmer slowly, uncovered, for about 1½ hours or until the beans are just tender. Add boiling water if necessary during cooking, to keep beans covered with liquid. Season to taste near end of cooking. Leave beans in their cooking liquid until ready to use, then drain. Reserve cooking liquid. Remove the bacon or salt pork and set aside. Discard the herb packet.
For the Lamb or Mutton
2 to 2½ pounds boned shoulder or breast of mutton or almost mature lamb, fell (skin covering meat) and excess fat removed
4 to 6 tablespoons rendered fresh pork fat, pork-roast drippings, goose fat, or cooking oil; more if needed
A heavy, 8-quart fireproof casserole
About 1 pound cracked mutton or lamb bones; some pork bones may be included
2 cups (½ pound) minced onions
Cut the lamb or mutton into chunks roughly 2 inches square. Dry each piece in paper towels. Pour a 1/16-inch layer of fat into the casserole and heat until the fat is almost smoking. Brown the meat, a few pieces at a time, on all sides. Set the meat on a side dish. Brown the bones and add them to the meat. If fat has burned, discard it and add 3 tablespoons of fresh fat. Lower heat, and brown the onions lightly for about 5 minutes.
4 cloves mashed garlic
6 tablespoons fresh tomato purée, tomato paste, or 4 large tomatoes peeled, seeded, and juiced
½ teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cups dry white wine or 2 cups dry white vermouth
1 quart brown stock or 3 cups canned beef bouillon and 1 cup water
Salt and pepper
Return the bones and lamb or mutton to the casserole and stir in all of the above ingredients. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove, season lightly with salt. Cover and simmer slowly on top of the stove or in a 325-degree oven for 1½ hours. Then remove the meat to a dish; discard the bones and bay leaves. Remove all but 2 tablespoons fat and carefully correct seasoning of cooking liquid.
Final flavoring of beans
Pour the cooked and drained beans into the lamb cooking juices. Stir in any juices you may have from the roast pork. Add bean cooking liquid, if necessary, so beans are covered. Bring to the simmer and simmer 5 minutes, then let the beans stand in the liquid for 10 minutes to absorb flavor. Drain the beans when you are ready for the final assembly farther on.
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