Cassoulet with Duck Confit
It’s almost Valentine’s Day! We like to serve special dishes on Valentine’s Day. Cassoulet with Duck Confit is a decadent yet comforting dish that will warm your heart and your tastebuds. We use prepared duck confit because it’s available at our local specialty market, but you could make your own or use chicken thighs instead. We like to remove the meat from the duck legs, shred it and add it back into the cassoulet before serving. This makes it easier to eat and divide into four servings.
We are fortunate that one of our local markets carries Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans – boy are they perfect for our Cassoulet with Duck Confit! We’ve also made this recipe with cannellini beans and they were delicious. Just make sure you take the extra step to use the dried beans as canned beans will just get mushy and the cassoulet won’t be as flavorful.
We wish you so much comfort and love this Valentine’s Day…and every day!
Jump to Recipe
Prepare the bean mixture a day ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.
Combine the bean mixture, duck legs and sausages in a 2-3 quart baking dish.
While the cassoulet bakes, toast the bread crumbs in a bit of olive oil.
After about 40 minutes in the oven, the cassoulet will be bubbling and the sausages browned on top.
The perfect dish to share with your Valentine!
Cassoulet with Duck Confit
Equipment
- 2 ½ - 3 quart deep casserole dish
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 4 oz pancetta cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1/2 medium onion cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 8 oz dried cannellini or flageolet beans rinsed and picked over, then soaked for 2 hours and drained
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ large head of garlic 7-8 whole cloves, separated into cloves and peeled
- Kosher salt
- 2 pieces of prepared duck leg confit or prepare your own - see link in text of post
- 2 French garlic sausages sliced lengthwise 1/2 inch thick and scored, if desired
- 1 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat 1 ½ tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook over moderate heat until the fat has been rendered, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the beans, thyme sprigs, water and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring and skimming occasionally, until the beans are al dente, about 1 hour.
- Add the garlic cloves to the beans and simmer until the garlic is tender, about 15 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs. Season the beans with salt and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate the saucepan overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Rewarm the beans on the stove over moderate heat. Transfer the beans to a 2 1/2 - 3 quart deep casserole dish. Nestle the duck legs, garlic sausage and bacon into the beans. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the cassoulet is bubbling and all of the meats are hot. Remove from cassoulet from the oven: remove the duck legs, discard the skin, take the meat off the bones and shred it coarsely. Return the duck the cassoulet and let rest for 15 minutes.
- In a skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the breadcrumbs and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the parsley over the cassoulet and serve.