This Catalán lamb and bean cassoulet is not an easy recipe to make but, if you’re stuck at home in a blizzard or want to honor your friends by preparing a complicated and delicious dish, this is it, and it’s worth every minute of intense labor. This is the original recipe from the book Cooking of Southwest France by Paula Wolfert, first published in 1983. A new, simplified edition was released in 2005, but I’m not a fan of it.
Here is Paula Wolfert’s superb version of cassoulet called in Catalán en pistache, as served in the Central Pyrenees. If you like the combination of lamb and garlic (and who doesn’t? Lucien Vanel once told me one should fall to one’s knees before such beautiful affinity of tastes!), you will adore this dish.
Catalán Lamb and Bean Cassoulet
Buy “choice” lamb rather than “prime” — it is less fatty, and lamb fat is particularly delicious. The method of cooking the lamb in its own juices with a quantity of wine and aromatics was devised to bring out the true flavor of the meat. With the dish, pass a small bowl of pickled walnuts. Please note that a crust should have formed on top. I’ll make sure it does that next time and post the new picture.Inspired by a recipe from Lucien Vanel.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried white beans such as Great Northern or pea beans
- 10 ounces lean salt pork
- 1 boned lean shoulder of lamb 3 to 3½ pounds, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 4 cloves garlic
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons peanut or olive oil
- 1½ cups chopped onions
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 3 tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ ounce dried cèpes
- 1 piece orange rind
- 2 carrots sliced
- 1 onion stuck with 2 cloves
- 4 sprigs parsley
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 ribs celery
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound Toulouse sausages or fresh garlic-flavored pork sausages
- 1 head garlic
Instructions
- Soak beans in cold water for 1½ hours.
- Meanwhile, with a thin-bladed knife, remove rind from lean salt pork. Cook the pieces in simmering water 3 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold running water, and dry. Cut salt pork into small cubes. Set aside cubes and whole rind.
- Cut away as much fat as possible from each cube of lamb. Peel 4 cloves of garlic. Cut each clove into slivers. With a small paring knife, make a slit in each cube of lamb and insert a sliver of garlic. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Rub the meat very lightly with sugar so the lamb will have a nice brown, glossy color when browned.
- In a flameproof 3-quart heavy-bottomed casserole, heat oil over high heat and brown the lamb on all sides in batches. Avoid too high a heat, but do sear the lamb cubes. Transfer each batch to a plate to make room for the next batch. When all the lamb has been browned, wipe out the fat in the bottom of the casserole. Add salt pork cubes. Lower heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes, shaking the casserole often so cubes will not stick. Uncover, add onions, and cook gently over low heat, until soft and golden. Tilt casserole and press on onions and salt pork cubes with the back of a slotted spoon to extract excess fat. Use a paper towel to mop up fat.
- Deglaze the casserole with wine. Return lamb pieces and any juices that have accumulated to the casserole. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, cèpes (washed, not soaked), and the orange rind. Bring to a boil, then simmer, tightly covered, 2 hours or until tender.
- (I must admit that I usually skip this step, but Paula doesn’t!) When beans have soaked 1½ hours, drain and put in a 4- or 5-quart heavy pan. Cover with tepid water and slowly bring to a boil. Boil beans 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a kettle of water to a boil. When beans have boiled 5 minutes, drain and return to pan. Immediately pour enough boiling water over to cover. (This little extra step eliminates a great deal of the gas that causes some bean eaters to suffer.)
- Add carrots, onion stuck with 2 cloves, blanched pork rind, and herb bouquet (parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and celery, tied together).
- Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 2 hours. Midway, add 1 teaspoon salt.
- When lamb has finished cooking, set aside, uncovered. Spoon off any fat that rises to the surface.
- Prick sausages 3 or 4 times. Add to beans after they have cooked 1½ hours. Continue cooking beans, uncovered, 30 minutes.
- Remove and discard carrots, onion stuck with cloves, and herb bouquet.
- Separate remaining garlic head into cloves. Cook cloves in their skins in a small saucepan with water to cover 10 minutes. Drain and peel. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Line an enamelware or stoneware bean pot with the pork rind fat side down. (The skin side sticks.) Using a slotted spoon, spread about ⅓ of the beans to make a layer over the rind, then add a layer of about half of the lamb.
- Cut the sausages into 8 slices of approximately equal size; place between lamb chunks.
- Scatter peeled garlic cloves on top. Cover with another layer of beans, add remaining lamb, then remaining beans. Pour all the meat cooking liquid over beans and add just enough of bean cooking liquid to moisten. Set pot in oven to cook for 1 hour or until a crust forms on the surface. Serve directly from earthenware dish.
Notes
Dish can be prepared 1 day in advance.
Nutrition
Calories: 753kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 28gFat: 49gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 1804mgPotassium: 1566mgFiber: 11gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 3115IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 188mgIron: 7mg
