Cassoulet
The great bean feast of south-west France: white beans slow-baked with duck confit, pork and garlicky sausage until a golden crust forms on top. A weekend project worth every minute.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Cook the beans
Drain the soaked beans and put them in a large pot (about 5 litre) with the halved onion, carrot, 2 whole garlic cloves and the ; cover with about 3 litres cold water, 5 cm above the beans. Simmer uncovered over low heat for about 1 hour; do not add salt yet. Drain, keep the cooking liquid, and discard the vegetables and herbs.
- 500 g dried beans
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 carrot
- 2 garlic cloves, whole
- 1
- about 3 litres water
✅ Done when: beans are tender but still hold their shape, not splitting
Warm the duck and collect the fat
Put the duck legs skin-side down in a large (28–30 cm) frying pan over low heat for 8–10 minutes, until the fat melts out and the skin turns golden. Lift out the legs and keep 3 tablespoons of the rendered fat in the pan.
- 4 duck legs
✅ Done when: skin golden and plenty of fat has rendered
Brown the meats
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Make the flavour base
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Layer the cassoulet
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Bake and break the crust
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Rest and serve
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Cook the beans
Drain the soaked beans and put them in a large pot (about 5 litre) with the halved onion, carrot, 2 whole garlic cloves and the ; cover with about 3 litres cold water, 5 cm above the beans. Simmer uncovered over low heat for about 1 hour; do not add salt yet. Drain, keep the cooking liquid, and discard the vegetables and herbs.
- 500 g dried beans
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 carrot
- 2 garlic cloves, whole
- 1
- about 3 litres water
✅ Done when: beans are tender but still hold their shape, not splitting
Warm the duck and collect the fat
Put the duck legs skin-side down in a large (28–30 cm) frying pan over low heat for 8–10 minutes, until the fat melts out and the skin turns golden. Lift out the legs and keep 3 tablespoons of the rendered fat in the pan.
- 4 duck legs
✅ Done when: skin golden and plenty of fat has rendered
Brown the meats
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Make the flavour base
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Layer the cassoulet
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Bake and break the crust
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Rest and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Cassoulet takes its name from the cassole, the glazed clay pot it is baked in. It comes from Languedoc in south-west France, where beans, pork and duck were the everyday riches of farming families.
Three towns each claim the true version: Castelnaudary keeps it mostly pork, Carcassonne may add lamb or partridge, and Toulouse insists on its own sausage. All three agree it must be cooked slowly and shared at a big table.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is one of France's most generous dishes: creamy beans soaked in the flavour of three kinds of meat, under a crisp golden crust.
💡 Fun Fact
Local legend says the first cassoulet was made in Castelnaudary during the Hundred Years' War, when the besieged townspeople pooled all their food into one giant stew.
Languedoc (Castelnaudary, Carcassonne and Toulouse)
43.32°N, 1.95°E
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