Octopus, Cockscomb and Pork Jowl Cassoulet
Cassoulet is the epitome of a gastronomic ‘one pot wonder!’ A dish that needs time, great ingredients and crucially – balance.
The components can deviate from the classic but they must all bring relevance to the finished dish.
A great cassoulet should be alarmingly fatty and perfumed with garlic and thyme. It should have a crunch from toasted bread crumbs and be pleasure giving from soft flavorful beans. The meat part can almost be seen as a bonus, not the sum of its parts.
Here I have used:
Pork Jowl – Depth
Cockscomb – Gelatinous Depth
Morteau – Smoke
Iberico Fat – Fat
White Beans – Comfort
Prunes – Sweetness
Garlic, Thyme, Bay – Aromatic
Octopus – Saline, Texture and Depth
METHOD
Start with a couple of onions, a chilli, and seasoning using the duck or iberico fat.
Now the sausage, then it’s just good chicken stock and in go the combs, prunes, beans and jowl. After that go the aromats.
Place a cartouch on the top to cover and cook in the oven at 160°C, 1hr 45 mins should do the trick.
My technique here, is that once the stew has finished, I’ll turn the oven off and leave the cassoulet there to cool down completely.
I’ll cover the dish with thin bread and olive oil for the reheat. Breadcrumbs are equally great, and serve to soak the fat.
Few dishes are as deeply satisfying as a cassoulet, to make and to eat.
Bon cuisine
Adam x
