Cassoulet is a perfect dish to make for company on a chilly winter day.  Everything can be done ahead of time, then simply bake the cassoulet for about 30 – 40 minutes before you are ready to serve the dish, heat up the Saucisse de Toulouse and crisp the skin of the duck legs confit.  Serve cassoulet with a green salad with winter fruits such as persimmon, apple, or pear.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of dried white beans (flageolets, navy or great northern)
• 6 cups of water
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves
• 1 carrot (cut in half)
• 1 – 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1stalk of parsley
• 1 rib of celery
• 1/2 pound garlic sausage, sliced, then slices cut in quarters
• 1/4 pound of diced salt pork or bacon
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of rendered duck fat or olive oil
• 4 shallots, chopped
• 1 cup peeled and diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1/2 dry white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 10 duck legs confit
• 6 links Saucisse de Toulouse
• 1 1/4 cups breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons of butter

Instructions:

Boil 6 cups of water. Wash the beans and put in a pan, add the boiling water, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let soak for one hour. Stud one of the peeled onions with the 2 cloves and add to the beans. Add the carrot, garlic, parsley, celery, diced salt pork or bacon, sausage, and salt. Bring to a boil uncovered, skim off the foam, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Chop the 2nd onion and the shallots and sauté in the duck fat until the onion turns light brown, add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chopped parsley and the wine. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, and add to the beans.

Cover and simmer for 1 hour, or until beans are tender, adding more water if needed. The bean mixture should be saucy, with about 1 cup or more liquid when finished. Remove the whole onion, celery, carrot and parsley stalk.

Put the bean mixture in a large earthenware or enamel casserole. Combine the breadcrumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle over the beans, bake at about 350 until the breadcrumbs are brown (up to 40 minutes).

Towards the end of the cooking time, heat the duck legs confit in a frying pan over medium heat, fat side down. When the skin is crisp and browned, turn over just to heat and slightly brown the other side of the legs. Meanwhile, sauté the saucisse de Toulouse in a small amount of olive oil until browned. Cut the sausages in half. Remove the casserole from the oven, top with the duck confit and sausages.

Serves 8 – 10

We love to serve couscous for a big dinner party.  This delicious all-in-one Moroccan meal (veggies, meat, and grain, all in the same dish) can be prepared ahead of time, and served family style.  Traditionally, the meat is served on platters, the vegetables and broth is served in a large soup bowl, and the couscous is served in a separate bowl.  Some harissa or spicy sauce can be added to the broth prior to serving.

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken thighs

1 1/2 pounds flank steak (optional)

4 quarts of water

6 carrots peeled

6 onions peeled

6 turnips peeled

6 leeks

1 bunch of celery

1 bouquet garni

salt and pepper

4 zucchini

4 tomatoes

2 pounds of ground lamb

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 pinch caraway seeds

2 pinches ground coriander

2 tablespoons oil
1

2 packages of Merguez sausages (12 links)

8 lamb chops

1 quantity of couscous with chick peas (recipe follows)
or use packaged couscous and add canned garbonzo beans and golden raisins)

1 quantity of spicy sauce (recipe follows)
or use Harissa

First, put the chicken and the flank steak in a large cooking pot and pour in the cold water. Bring it to a boil and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours, skimming the fat regularly.

Slice the carrots, 4 onions, turnips, leek and celery and add to the pot along with the bouquet garni. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the pot back to a boil. Slice the zucchini and tomatoes thickly, and then add to the pot. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, finely chop the 2 remaining onions and mix with the ground lamb. Season with salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, caraway seeds and ground coriander. Mix everything in well and then shape into small balls using a tablespoon. Let sit for 15 minutes.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and add the meatballs, cooking over high heat until browned on all sides, but still medium rare inside.  Saute the lamb chops in the frying pan until rare to medium rare, about 4 – 5 minutes.  Saute the merguez sausages, just until cooked through.

Before serving, remove the bouquet garni and pour the stock and vegetables into a big soup pot. Serve the lamb chops, meat balls, and merguez on a platter. Serve the couscous in a separate serving dish.  Serve the spicy sauce on the side.

Coucous with Chick Peas

Ingredients

2 cups dried chick peas

2 cups golden raisins

4 pounds (8 cups) Couscous

Salt and white pepper

2/3 cup butter

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 tablespoon quatre-épices (mixed-spice/ apple pie spice)

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup chicken stock

The chick peas first need to be soaked overnight in cold water. Then drain the chick peas, place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring it to a boil and let simmer for 3 hours.

In the meantime, soak the raisins in fairly warm water. Put the couscous in a bowl and cover with cold water and 2 tablespoons of salt; let it rest until the grains have absorbed all the water.

Place the couscous into the top of the couscoussier or steamer. Steam over boiling water, keeping the lid on for 30 minutes.

Put the couscous back in a bowl and pour in another cup of water. Place it back in the steamer for another 25 minutes.

Again, put the couscous back in the bowl and crumble out any lumps. Little by little, add in the butter and mix well.

Drain the raisins and the chick peas and mix them in with the couscous. Return the mixture to the steamer for 30 more minutes.

In a saucepan, mix in the cayenne pepper, caraway seeds, quatre epices, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, the tomato paste and stock and heat for a few minutes.

Separate the couscous grains before serving, serve the sauce in a separate bowl.

This is a great winter weather recipe.  I love the rabbit meat with spicy lamb merguez sausage and roasted chestnuts.  The recipe was inspired by a recipe found in an old french cookbook.  As usual, we have changed the recipe considerably.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

One rabbit

5 tablespoon of rendered duck fat or foie gras fat

2 to 3 shallots finely chopped

Salt
 and Pepper

1 tablespoon of flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 medium size bouquet garni: parsley and thyme sprigs plus one bay leaf tied together.  (Any combination of herbs may be used including basil, chervil, tarragon, rosemary depending on your taste)

1 1/2 pounds of roasted canned or packaged chestnuts, peeled

Six Merguez sausages

Instructions

Cut the rabbit in approximately 12 – 15 small pieces. Removing the bigger bones of the legs is optional.  Put the duck fat into a pan over medium heat, and add the shallots.  When the shallots are lightly brown, add the pieces of rabbit and sauté until nicely brown and cooked through.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.  Remove the rabbit from the pan and set aside.  Add a tablespoon of flour, and cook, stirring until golden.  Add the stock, salt and pepper, and the bouquet garni.  Add the chestnuts and cook uncovered for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Put the rabbit back in the pan for about 5 mintues, to reheat.  Remove the bouquet garni.
meanwhile, brown the Merguez separately in a different pan with a little oil, do not cut or poke the sausages to keep the juice inside as much as possible.

To serve, put two or three pieces of rabbit and some chestnuts on a plate, with sauce, one Merguez and a little bit of the Merguez juice from the frying pan.  Garnish with some mache or other greens or serve with braised endives.

I learned about merguez lamb sausages about eight years ago when I noticed that a favorite French cafe, La Note, in Berkeley had them on the breakfast menu.  Merguez sausages are quite versatile.  They work equally well for breakfast, with couscous, or on a fresh baguette with brie.  The owners of La Note were nice enough to give me the name of the manufacturer, Fabrique Delices, which indirectly led to the eventual launch of our foie gras and charcuterie website, EnjoyFoieGras.com.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe I saw on twitter posted by RecipesCuisine.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups fava beans, blanched and peeled

4 shallots, chopped roughly

foie gras fat or olive oil

2 lb scallops

4 – 8 merquez sausages

16 basil leaves, chopped, plus leaves for garnish

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 egg yolks

pink pepper

sea salt

black pepper

Instructions

Lightly whisk cream and egg yolk in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Sautee shallots in foie gras fat or olive oil until lightly browned.  Set aside.  Sautee merguez for about 5 minutes until brown (do not overcook).  Sprinkle crushed pink pepper and sea salt on scallops.  Sear scallops in a pan with olive oil.   Meanwhile, add fava beans, basil and chicken broth to shallots and warm.  Then add cream and egg mixture.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.  Heat through on low heat.

To serve, place creamed fava bean mixture on plate.  Place one or two sausages on top of fava beans.  Place seared scallops on top of fava beans.  Garnish with basil leaves.