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RESTAURANT REMIX: Bistrot La Minette's cassoulet
Since Philly's been colder than Dame Judi Dench's countenance in Notes on a Scandal these past few months, my thoughts fixated on cassoulet, the soulful, soporific French white bean stew.
RESTAURANT REMIX: Bistrot La Minette's cassoulet
I was recently invited to take part in a "Bean Swap" that involved a bunch of friends cooking hearty bean-based recipes and trading them to stock up fridges and freezers. Since Philly's been colder than Dame Judi Dench's countenance in Notes on a Scandal these past few months, my thoughts fixated on cassoulet, the soulful, soporific French white bean stew. Few places in Philly do this dish better than Bistrot La Minette (623 S. Sixth St.), where chef/owner Peter Woolsey offers a traditional Toulousain version swimming with a veritable barnyard of ribcage-insulating proteins — lamb, bacon, duck confit, sausage, pork belly. MEAT PARTY!
While factors like time, equipment and (distinct lack of) kitchen skill required that I craft a far less ambitious cassoulet, I feel the Woolsey-guided version Friend of Meal Ticket Kibby R. and I ended up with tasted pretty damn good. We dialed it down to feature just two meats, slab bacon and lamb shoulder (there is still duck fat in it, though — vital). Keep in mind that this recipe, while straightforward, requires patience — a rushed cassoulet is a sucky one. Check out the recipe, which feeds about eight hungry heads, after the jump.
FOR THE BEANS (note that you can do this well in advance, even the day before):
1 bag navy beans
1/2 large white onion
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
Rinse beans in cold water, then place in a heavy lidded pot with bay leaf, onion and thyme. Cover with approximately 3 inches of water. Bring pot to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook beans until tender, about 1-1.5 hours, checking occasionally. IMPORTANT: Do not season beans with salt and pepper until the very end of the cooking process (10 minutes or less remaining). Introducing salt too early will slow down the beans' water absorption and they'll take forever to cook.
FOR THE STEW:
1-2 generous spoonfuls duck fat (they retail it at Di Bruno's in Center City)
1 lb. slab bacon, cut into lardons
2-2.5 lbs. lamb shoulder, roughly cubed, excess fat trimmed
3 large white onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can whole peeled tomatoes, liquid drained, roughly chopped
375 ml (1/2 bottle) of white wine (or the equivalent amount in boxed white wine)
1 box chicken stock
2 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
Over medium-high heat, render duck fat in a large pot (enough to coat the bottom). Cook the bacon until crispy/rendered, 10-12 minutes; remove and set aside. Season lamb with salt and pepper, then brown the cubes in the duck/bacon fat (do not fully cook), 8-10 minutes; remove and set aside. Add onions and garlic and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add bacon, lamb, tomatoes, wine, thyme and bay leaves to the pot, and use the chicken stock to bring the liquid up to fully cover all ingredients. Bring pot to a simmer, cover and let it go for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally and adjusting seasoning to taste. When the stew is done, the broth will be reduced by about half and the lamb will be extremely tender. Remove thyme stems and bay leaves, ladle stew into bowls with a generous portion of cooked navy beans, garnish with toasted/herbed breadcrumbs and sausage (optional) and serve immediately.
TC: Good question, sorry it wasn't clearer. Standard sizes for each: 32oz box for the stock, 16oz bag for the navy beans. You'll have leftovers of both, but good to have just in case you want to tweak your cassoulet a little.
amazing. I'm making this. can i replace either of the liquids with more duck fat? just asking.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Drew Lazor, Lisa Chan-Simms. Lisa Chan-Simms said: RP's Cooking Update RESTAURANT REMIX: Bistrot La Minette's cassoulet http://bit.ly/gyPuXJ #cooking #recipes [...]
Love the way some of the stock pot pics look, it's like you're tripping on meat.
How much is a bag of beans/box of stock? We tend to buy bulk/make our own, and the grocery store has multiple sizes for each.
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