I’m not juniorballoon, but here is a Paula Wolfert recipe from her Cooking of Southwest France book. It is definitely complex, even though it assumes you already have the duck confit. I love Paula Wolfert and I have made a version of this several times, leaving out some of the fats. It is spectacular and if you already have duck confit, or are using duck legs not confited, and spread it out over several days, it actually doesn’t take that much time.
The meats are browned and simmered alone for 1.5 hours with stock. If you are starting with uncooked duck, it would go in with the other meats. Then the beans, which have soaked overnight, are first brought to a boil by themselves, then added to the simmering meats. You could skip that bring to a boil step and just added the soaked, drained beans. It all simmers together for 2 hours or until beans are done.
Then it is refrigerated overnight. This is to let the flavors meld and also the beans will continue absorbing some of the very flavorful liquids. This also allows the fat to solidify and you can remove some of it the next day if you want.
Next day, you skim off the top fat if desired, remove the meats, cut off bones and gristle and fatty parts, and cut the meats in bite-sized pieces. This makes it much easier to eat and digest. Step 7 could easily be skipped. Then you add the duck confit, if that is what you using, and bake the whole thing for 1.5 hours. Cook the sausage separately and place on top, then bake another hour.
Very true: all these ingredients and all the steps are not necessary to produce a good cassoulet. They do produce a spectacular one, however. It was worth it to me to try it a few times for very special occasions. I do think the several long, slow braises and overnight rest enhance the flavor a lot without a lot of active work time.
Slightly simpler cassoulet recipes are in Paula Wolfert’s World of Food and her Slow Mediterranean Kitchen.
