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

Boudin blanc, boudin noir, andouillete, saucisse de Morteau and saucisse de Toulouse are all traditional French sausages, yet each sausage has totally different ingredients, and it’s own unique flavor.  This article describes each type of sausage and it’s ingredients, and provides some serving suggestions.  One thing that all of the French sausages have in common is that they all pair well with and are frequently served with potatoes.

Boudin Blanc is a sausage that many people (especially the French) associate with the Christmas holiday season, though they certainly can be enjoyed throughout the year.  This tasty sausage is fully cooked and is made of chicken, pork, cream, brandy and seasoning.  The texture of the sausage is smooth, a bit creamy, and uniform in consistency, somewhat similar to a bratwurst or English banger.

Boudin Blanc can be cooked in a pan on the stove, with a small amount of oil, for about ten minutes or until fully heated and golden brown outside.  Grilling is also a great option for Boudin Blanc.  Since the sausage is light colored, the grill marks leave a nice golden brown pattern on the sausages, creating a visually appealing presentation of the sausage.

Like Boudin Blanc, Boudin Noir is also fully cooked.  Known also as blood pudding sausage, Boudin Noir is made of beef blood, pork, onions and seasoning.  This unique and delicious sausage is dark in color, especially when cooked, and pairs particularly well with mashed potatoes and/or cooked apples.  Many people like to take a bite of the Boudin Noir along with some potato, apple, or both.  Boudin Noir is easily prepared by heating the sausage in a frying pan with some butter or oil for about ten minutes.

Andouillete is another fully cooked sausage with a unique flavor profile popular with French people.  It is made of pork chitterlings, pork stomach, pork meat, onions, red wine, mustard, vinegar, parsley, and seasoning.  Andouillete, like the other sausages, can be simply heated in a frying pan with a small amount of oil.  The sausage casing will easily burst when heated, and many who enjoy andouillete prefer to eat the sausage this way.

For an interesting variation, mix equal parts of crème fraiche and whole grain mustard, and add a small amount of cognac or brandy.  When the andouillete is browned and starting to fall apart, add the sauce to the pan and heat for another mintute.

Morteau is a fourth type of traditional French sausage, which is smoked with pinewood.  Saucisse de Morteau contains pork, pork fat, and seasoning.  It has a smokey flavor and tastes somewhat like a strong dense salami, though it’s flavor is unique from other types of sausage or salami.  Morteau is sometimes used in cassoulet, pairs well with potatoes, or can simply be sliced and enjoyed cold.

Saucisse de Toulouse, a traditional south of France sausage is raw, and is made of pork, onion, white wine, and seasoning.  Like the other sausages, Saucisse de Toulouse may be cooked in a frying pan with a small amount of oil until golden brown and fully cooked.  This sausage holds up well on a grill and is a good choice for a summer BBQ.  Those who do not have a taste for some of the more unique flavored French sausages will likely enjoy Saucisse de Toulouse for it’s more traditional pork sausage flavor profile.  This sausage is also ideal for cassoulet.