Cassoulet

Winter and comfort foods go hand in hand. And, that is the perfect time for cassoulet. (Incidentally, National Cassoulet Day in the U.S. is January 9th. Coincidence? I don’t think so.)

Essentially, it’s baked beans with meat. But the French often take what was originally a peasant dish and elevate it with such ingredients as duck confit or foie gras. But, any meat product will do. Typically, a fat rendering from bacon with cannellini beans, onions, garlic, and Herbes de Provence is pretty much the base. You can add pork loin or shoulder, sausage, or even goose meat.

The recipe I used was Thomas Keller’s slow-cooker cassoulet. The upside is that it was a pretty simple recipe with pretty simple ingredients. (Although, I will say I was surprised to see panko crumbs on the list.) The down side? It needed about nine or ten hours to complete. A bit of a challenge when you realize you don’t have that much time.

Having made it, I would do a few things differently next time. While I would still use a pork shoulder (frequently sold as pork butt) for tenderness and not a loin, I would probably break it down with the diced tomatoes and other liquids and herbs in my favorite blue Le Creuset. (Keller didn’t use any herbs, but I definitely think it adds a good touch.) I might brown the bacon, onions, garlic, and beans separately and then add them later once the pork started to separate.

I once made gnocchi with pork ragù, which clearly I need to make again because I’m salivating just thinking about it. The pork simmered in the juices for a couple hours and eventually fell apart in the pot. Just a quick shimmy with a fork and there was complete yumminess ready to go. Treating the cassoulet in much the same way, I could simultaneously cook ingredients and then put them all together for the flavors to marry—and it still wouldn’t take 10 hours to do it.

Here’s the recipe:

4 lb boneless pork butt

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 TB canola oil

1 c. panko

4 oz. thick cut bacon, cut crosswise into ½ strips

3 medium onions, chopped

2 c. dry white wine

¼ c. tomato paste

1 TB Herbes de Provence

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes

2 c. chicken broth

4 cans of cannellini beans

6 chorizo links, cooked and sliced

1 garlic head, halved crosswise

¼ c. flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Season the pork generously with salt and pepper and set aside.

Sautee the panko in the canola over medium heat until toasted, about 4-6 minutes. Set aside.

Sautee bacon until brown to render fat. Set aside on paper towels and reserve for later.

Brown all the pork and set aside.

In the rendered fat, cook the onions with 1 tsp. salt and the Herbes de Provence until golden and softened. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Stir in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and broth. Add the beans, pork, chorizo, and garlic. Continue to cook until pork falls apart easily with a fork.

Serve with baguettes and top with reserved bacon and a little chopped parsley.