Extensive Definition
Cassoulet (from Occitan
caçolet [kasuˈlet]) is a rich,
slow-cooked bean stew or
casserole originating
in the southwest of France, containing
meat (typically pork
sausages, pork, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork
skin (couennes) and white haricot
beans.
Numerous regional variations exist, the
best-known being from Castelnaudary,
the self-proclaimed "Capital of Cassoulet", Toulouse, and
Carcassonne.
All are made with white beans (haricots blancs, lingots), duck or
goose confit, meat and
sausages. In the cassoulet of Toulouse, the meats are pork and
mutton, the latter frequently a cold roast shoulder. The
Carcassonne version is similar but doubles the portion of mutton
and sometimes replaces the duck with partridge. The cassoulet of
Castelnaudary uses a roast duck instead of mutton and serves it in
a special dish.
Cassoulet is also sold in France as a commercial
product in cans and can be
found in supermarkets and grocery stores across the country. These
cassoulets vary in price and quality. The cheapest ones contain
only beans, tomato sauce, sausages, and bacon — duck and goose are
expensive and thus are absent from such preparations. More
expensive versions are likely to be cooked with goose fat and to
include Toulouse sausages, lamb, goose, or duck confit.
Haute
cuisine versions require mixing pre-cooked roasted meats with
beans that have been simmered separately with aromatic vegetables,
but this runs counter to cassoulet's peasant
origins. The dish is named after the cassole, the distinctive deep
round earthenware
pot with slanting sides in which cassoulet is ideally cooked. In
the process of preparing the dish it is traditional to deglaze the pot
from the previous cassoulet in order to give a base for the next
one. This has led to stories of a single original cassoulet being
extended for years or even decades.
Many culinary traditions have similar techniques
for slow cooking beans in a covered vessel. Examples include
Feijoada,
Fabada
Asturiana, and baked
beans.
cassoulet in Asturian: Cassoulet
cassoulet in Catalan: Caçolet
cassoulet in German: Cassoulet
cassoulet in Spanish: Cassoulet
cassoulet in French: Cassoulet
cassoulet in Dutch: Cassoulet
cassoulet in Japanese: カスレ
cassoulet in Occitan (post 1500): Caçolet
cassoulet in Portuguese:
Cassoulet