At your next dinner party, serve the perfect, traditional French cassoulet with a hearty, slow cooked white bean and meat stew with pork, duck, and sausage. It is called after the casserole, a deep, earthenware pot with slanting sides, which served as the region’s primary cooking vessel. Learn how to make the traditional and delicious French dish Cassoulet in this recipe!
What Is Cassoulet?
Cassoulet is the name for a French dish consisting of white beans, various meats, and various vegetables in a stew. It is considered a regional dish of the South of France. The dish was first mentioned in a 13th-century French manuscript called the “Taillevent”. It was originally cooked in a “cassole” pot, which was then in common use in Languedoc, and presumably at the time only contained a white bean stew. In the late 1800s, cassoulet was evoked by the French as a symbol of regional identity.
Cassoulets, the official dish of the southwest region of France, are a hearty, rustic dish of meat, vegetables, and beans. Originally, cassoulet was made by slow-cooking white beans with meat, vegetables, and seasonings. This dish was considered peasant food because it was inexpensive to make and would feed large families. This dish is also made often from leftover ingredients from the previous days cooking, so it can be a dish that’s cooked for a long time and is often eaten for lunch.
How To Make Cassoulet
Cassoulet is a classic French dish that is traditionally slow-cooked, consisting of white beans, pork and duck. In addition, any combination of meats and vegetables, like smoked bacon, salt pork, garlic, onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and parsley are added to the dish. To make this dish, you need to have a deep, earthenware casserole dish. Prepare the dish by rubbing it with a piece of butter and adding a layer of sliced onions.
This hearty dish is comprised of beans, pork, and various types of meat, all slow cooked in a white wine and ham broth. The cassoulet can be topped with breadcrumbs and baked to order. The dish is often cooked in a cast-iron casserole. Cassoulet has a long cooking process, but it is worth the wait. While it can be made as a one dish meal, it is often served in a deep dish, with servings often being meant to be shared.
A Vegan Cassoulet Recipe
A vegan cassoulet recipe is a dish with all the traditional ingredients, minus the meat. Cassoulet is a very rich dish, which is often served as a main course. It is made with beans, vegetables, and bread, and flavored with garlic, onion, and herbs. The cassoulet can be cooked for hours, or even days.
In a large pot, heat up some olive oil and sauté some diced onion and carrot. Add in your favorite vegan sausage and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Add in tomato paste, garlic, and thyme. Add in beans, water, and salt. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for about an hour and a half. Add in elbow macaroni and cook for a little bit. Add in basil and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Let it cool and enjoy!
