Saturday, February 19, 2011

"Cassoulet"

After more decadent eating out this week (roasted duck with rabbit consomme here and a fabulous cheeseburger here), I finally decided it was time to get back into the kitchen. Since I've had all things French on my mind these days, I decided to try cassoulet.

Or shall I invoke scare quotes and say, "cassoulet"? Because I'm sure that any genuine French person would scoff dismissively at my attempt. 

I couldn't blame them. There's nothing truly authentic about it. For one thing, the recipe belongs to Mark Bittman, who I like very much, but who is quintessentially American in his approach to food: cook what you like, the way you like it, however that might be. He's no slave to tradition, which I think may be one of the defining French characteristics when it comes to food. It's also probably why so many of us Americans are Bittman fans.

Anyway, I liked the look of this recipe, because it leans more on vegetables than meat (another Bittman hallmark), and as evidenced by my recent eating escapades outlined above, I'm doing fine on the protein side. That said, I did enjoy choosing the meat for the cassoulet, of which I needed one pound, and which according to Bittman could be  "Italian sausages, bone-in pork chops, confit duck legs, or duck breasts, or a combination." I settled on half a pound of sausage and two little pork chops.

So, here's the thing about it being "cassoulet" and not cassoulet, in addition to the recipe's provenance. I didn't really follow the directions all that well, some of which was intentional and some not. I changed a few small things on purpose, like using rosemary instead of thyme, and leaving out the cayenne since I didn't have it, although I think that would have been a nice addition. And I didn't add quite the full four cups of cannellini beans--too beany!-- I reduced it by about a cup.

But I made one big mistake not on purpose which is why my dish turned out more like a soup: I added all the broth at once, because I misread the recipe. Turns out you're supposed to add it a little at a time, as needed. I just dumped it all in, and it never really reduced to the right consistency.

I also noticed a mistake just now that I didn't even realize I had made last night, which is that I forgot the bay leaves entirely. Oh, my. I was really out to lunch.

It looked and tasted pretty nice, though, definitely worth a repeat performance, but this time following the directions a bit better. It wasn't really cassoulet--more like pork chop soup, which, when I think about it, doesn't sound too bad either.

15 comments:

  1. Hey look, you created a whole new recipe :) Pork chop soup sounds mighty fine to me. I've yet to attempt cassuoulet, might have a go in winter.

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  2. You're going to be in heaven when you order a cassoulet in Paris! Oh my. But they are loaded with pork and meat. Actually, I can't remember one bad meal there. Ever. So excited for you.
    I love your sense of humor about your lack of direction-following. We all make that mistake, sometimes it turns out better! :)

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  3. I never thought about the reasons that I love Mark Bittman but you nailed it. And your dish looks like a perfect winter meal.

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  4. shaz: I thought you might like the sound of pork chop soup!

    Barbara: I can hardly wait to get there!

    agrigirl: Thanks--it was!

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  5. authentic cassoulet or not, i think your creation looks and sounds grand! bay shmay! the very presence of sausage has won my heart. :)

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  6. LOL, I've been there with the misreading of recipes! At least you didn't burn your mouth from adding a whole can of Chipotle peppers when the recipe calls for one! I think another sign of a Bittman recipe is how fast it is. I don't think you can do a cassoulet in 40 minutes like the recipe says. It's usually a whole Sunday afternoon of slow cooking. But good attempt!

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  7. grace: aw, thanks! You're such a ray of sunshine!

    Ben: I remember when you did that!! :) Yeah, speedy cassoulet is an oxymoron, huh?

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  8. I find myself becoming a bigger and bigger fan of Mark Bittman. If only I could implement his vegan till 6pm plan and lose some weight!

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  9. Well, it look really wonderful as a soup. I'm eager to see how it turns out when you make it the next time w/o the flubs. I'm also glad to see those mistakes don't just happen to me. :)

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  10. ALY: I know, me too!

    oneordinaryday: I sort of think next time I want to make cassoulet I should find a "real" recipe...

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  11. Cassoulet on a cold, blustery day is a taste of heaven. Well, even if yours came out a little more brothy than you expected, it sure looks delicious. I wish you could pass me a bowl right now. ;)

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  12. I had cassoulet for the first time last week and went out immediately and bought a dutch oven so I can make my own. Can't believe I made it this long without it - I loved it!

    Great blog! And thanks for stopping by mine!

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  13. You could call it garbure, without the quotes, since that is basically cassoulet in soup form with more vegetables! :)

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  14. CJ: I suppose that taste is all the really maters, right?

    Quinces: I hope you try making it yourself! I'll be back visiting your blog soon...

    camille: Interesting, never heard of that. Next time I can say I made it that way on purpose :)

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  15. Well, this looks better than "real" cassoulet which I ate in not very good company in Castelnadaury which claims cassoulet as its own ;P I'm afraid I found the real thing rather a disappointment.

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