Beans and Pulses

This recipe was devised by T after we gorged ourselves on arguably the best dinner we've ever had while bicycling in the Midi, Languedoc and Rousillon in 1998. Please read The Cassoulet Affair.

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T's Cassoulet

An aside: It's important to say that anything I've added or done or quantities used can be changed. This ain't written in stone. Be creative with it. I am. You're eating it, not me. - TPH

Ingredients

4 c dried Navy beans (haricot blanc) (In France they use lingot or coco blanc)
water to cover beans
2 onions stuck full of cloves
2 large onions for frying
1 bay leaf
2 carrots trimmed and scraped
2 stalks celery
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500 gm good quality smoked ham
3 large sausages (Italian, garlic, smoked or other)
olive oil
300 gm lamb stew meat. (I can't use this, E doesn't like lamb)
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
6 or 8 Italian tomatoes
4 or 6 Chicken thighs (*skin removed*)
½ Tbsp thyme or to your taste

According to Sally and Martin Stone in The Brilliant Bean, most dried beans double in volume and weight after being soaked and cooked. Soybeans and chickpeas can triple.

"As a general rule, 1 cup (8oz) of dried beans increases to 2 to 2½ c (1 to 1¼ lb) of cooked beans. One cup of dried beans is usually enough to serve four as a side dish."

... (1 lb = 453.6 gm)

Preparation

Sort through and wash beans well. Cover generously with cold water and leave to soak overnight.
The next day, remove and floaters and wash the beans again. Then again cover with cold water and lightly boil beans for 1 hour along with the onion, bayleaf, carrots and celery. (There should be enough liquid to cover the beans while they are cooking.) *Add No Salt At This Point*. (The beans won't cook.)
In the meantime dust chicken and lamb with flour and fry in olive oil until they are golder brown. Cut up the ham and sausage into bite sized (or desired sized) pieces. Cut up tomatoes into smaller pieces.
Chop up the remaining onions and fry in olive oil to a golden brown adding the garlic for the last 5 minutes or so of frying so that it cooks through.
When the beans are tender remove celery, carrot and onion.
In a large casserole dish place ½ of the beans then place all the meat and cut up tomatoes and cooked onions and garlic and then layer the rest of the beans on top. Put in some of the broth that the beans cooked in until the broth reaches 1 inch *below* the top. Season with pepper and salt (quite a lot because beans need it - but you can add more later). Add the thyme and lightly stir everything up.
Cook *uncovered* in an oven for 2 to 3 hours at about 300 or 325F. Lightly stir occasionally during the first two hour period. Be careful during the last because the chicken gets so tender it tends to break up. Cover or add more of the bean broth if it looks like things are drying out. I don't think it will. -tph <;)

tph1998

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note from EJM: I can attest to the fact that this dish will make you swoon. Serve with leafy salad, green beans or broccoli, rustic French bread or crusty baguette and red wine.

Haricots Blancs (white beans with garlic)

Ingredients

Preparation

Serve with a green vegetable, a small piece of grilled meat and Rustic French Bread or crusty baguette.

Oh how embarrassing. For the longest time, I had "haricots" misspelled as "aricot"...I believe it's fixed now.

Puy Lentils

Ingredients

Preparation

This is even better if you let the lentils sit for a few hours to absorb the flavours. A splash of red wine can be added if desired. Serve with a green vegetable, a small piece of grilled meat and Rustic French Bread or crusty baguette.