Cassoulet- bean and sausage casserole
with duck
submitted by thenaturalizedcitizen.com
MY VERSION-this is two recipes chopped together into one with changes and omissions. It is traditional Christmas fare at our house, requested weeks ahead.
Note: for best flavor, make at least one day ahead. And do tell us how good it was.
8-12 duck leg sections, thighs and drumsticks intact together
4 or more Anduli style smoked sausages, sliced 1/4 inch disks
8-12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
salt and pepper
1 14 oz. bag of frozen peeled pearl onions
1 pound thick sliced applewood smoked bacon, cubed
4 large celery stalks, 1/4 inch sliced
6 long carrots, peeled and 1/4 inch sliced
5 15 oz. cans small white beans, undrained (in light seasoning ok)
2 rounded teaspoons Herbes de Provence (Provincial Herb mix, seasoning isle at market)
water or chicken broth as needed
bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 325. Season duck with salt. Layer into medium sized, deep cassarole dish. Scatter unpeeled garlic cloves around duck. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 2 hours. Remove from oven and set aside to rest. Turn oven up to 350.
Meanwhile, in a large dutch oven or stew pot, fry bacon bits until brown and crispy. Remove to a paper towel with a slotted spoon and set aside. Fry the sliced sausage until lightly browned, and remove to a bowl and set aside. Now fry the whole small onions in the same pan until beginning to brown. Remove them to a bowl and set aside. Now saute the celery and carrots in the fat in the pan until they begin to soften but not brown, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the beans (draining some cans if there is too much juice, you don't want it too 'soupy') and dried herbs, simmering together gently on low heat.
In the meantime, remove duck legs to cookie sheet to cool, then store tightly wrapped (I use a gallon sized Ziplock bag) in the fridge until needed. Squeeze garlic cloves from their wraps directly into beans.
Add the juice and fat from cooking the duck into the pot with the beans.
Stir through. Now layer the casserole: in a large, deep dutch oven or lasagna pan, start with all the cooked sausage on the bottom, single layer side to side. Now spoon some of the bean mixture over the sausages, covering them spoonful by spoonful with beans. When the sausage is covered with a bean layer, spread the onions on top of the beans. Sprinkle the bacon on top of the onions. Now cover the bacon with the rest of the bean mixture, taking care to not disturb the layers. Gently add water or broth to the casserole if needed to raise the liquid level to almost the top of the bean layer by pouring it around the edges of the casserole.
Bake in preheated oven for one to one and a half hours, until dish bubbles and simmers through, and the edges start to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool, uncovered. Then cover and refrigerate until needed, 2 days at most.
To serve: remove from fridge up to 3 hours before heating. Sprinkle top of casserole with breadcrumbs (optional). Place back in a 350 oven for about 1 hour, until edges start to bubble again and breadcrumbs are browned, adding water or broth as needed to maintain some gravy. Do not let the dish dry out, the beans soak up the juice. Place ducklegs on cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the oven with the reheating cassarole, placing the cookie sheet with the duck above the casserole. (top of oven for duck, bottom for beans). Roast duck legs until skin turns golden brown and delicious. Remove from oven.
Serve the cassoulet with a large serving spoon, making sure you reach to the bottom and get all the layers into every spoonful. Top each serving with a duck leg, and enjoy! Serve with crusty bread and a green salad with a vinegary dressing to cut the richness of the dish. It's SO GOOD!
