Easy French Cassoulet Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the main ingredient of the French dish cassoulet? ›

Cassoulet, a hearty slow-simmered stew of sausage, confit (typically duck), pork, and white beans, is one of the great hallmarks of French country cuisine. The best versions are cooked for hours until the beans and meat meld into a dish of luxuriant, velvety richness.

Great Northern and cannellini beans make fine substitutes for the Tarbais, flageolet and lingot beans used in France. Then give yourself over to the rhythm of roasting, sautéing and long, slow simmering.

The Best Beans for Cassoulet

Cassoulet is traditionally made with dried white beans like flageolet or regional specialty beans like these ones from Tarbais.

You can serve cassoulet on its own with a salad and bread on the side, but it's traditional to accompany it with something colorful . . . usually greens of some sort.

Toulouse sausage is deliciously grilled over hardwoods, gently roasted in a 180°C oven, and, of course, in cassoulet and other winter soups. The Toulouse Sausage is offered in a variety of tastes in France. The main ingredients, however, are pork, red wine, and garlic.

Originating in the South of France, cassoulet is a profoundly hearty peasant dish that typically includes white beans, duck (or goose) confit, and sausage, through specific preparations vary from town to town. It also is supposed to take a couple of days to put together, as the flavors of the meat develop slowly.

Once a peasant staple, this ancient French casserole is a royal treat for Valley diners. Cassoulet's origins date to the Late Middle Ages, when French peasants threw white beans and whatever else was lying around into a clay cooking vessel called a cassole, which gives the dish its name.

Unlike the Toulouse, a coarsely ground pork sausage, other sausages called for in recipes also have lots of garlic and some red wine. To substitute, you can use any garlic sausage, and be sure to avoid strongly flavored sausages like Italian or bratwurst.

Cassolette is any creamy dish served in a little individual ceramic dish. Cassoulet refers to a specific regional specialty and its recipes whereas cassolette refers to the container and the fact that it will go into the oven before being served rather than a specific recipe.

What dish is similar to cassoulet? ›

If you like cassoulet, you'll love fabada. It's leaner, smokier, and—crucially—takes a fraction of the time to prepare.

According to his book French Regional Food, co-authored by historian Loïc Bienassis, Castelnaudary cassoulet generally contains confit goose or duck, Carcassonne's has pork chops, and the Toulouse version uses mutton and the city's famous sausage.

Sourdough bread on the side will be great to soak up any juices and broth. Leftovers can be reheated with some more stock added to them. Overnight the beans will soak up any remaining liquid, causing everything to thicken up.

Meaning of cassoulet in English

a dish of white beans cooked slowly in a small amount of liquid with meat and herbs, originally from France: I went there for a Sunday supper and they were serving cassoulet. This rustic eatery is good for a traditional cassoulet.

You can use any good quality pork sausages you like instead of Toulouse. One of the comments below suggested fennel and red wine sausages, but even more traditional pork sausages will work well.

Butter – The Soul of French Cooking:

In French cooking, butter reigns supreme. Its creamy richness adds a luxurious touch to sauces, pastries, and pan-seared delights. From the celebrated beurre blanc to the flaky layers of croissants, butter sets French cuisine apart and elevates its flavors to new heights.

cassoulet, French dish of white beans baked with meats; it takes its name from its cooking pot, the cassole d'Issel. Originating in Languedoc in southwest France, cassoulet was once simple farmhouse fare, but it has been elaborated into a rich and complex dish.

These are the French main courses that speak to the cuisine's tradition of sophistication: duck à l'orange, cassoulet, bouillabaisse, coq au vin, and more from iconic chefs like Jacques Pépin, Julia Child, Daniel Boulud, and Eric Ripert.