When you make cassoulet, what vessel do you like? (A). Cassoulet? (B) Anything (C) a casserole like an LC (D) a French ceramic (an old (or new) tian). (E) a bean pot (F) a baking dish like Pyrex (G) something else (specify)? What are the dimensions? Do you, like a person from France, favor wider dishes for more crust, or do you prize the beans and meat(s) above all?
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I’ve only been served one, decades ago, at friends’ house. It was in a casserole.
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I have a cassoulet but its on the small side…so I usually make it in a larger casserole dish (or my enameled cast iron like most of the Feemch folks I know)
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I always thought the traditional vessel was called a cassoule, no?
There are two French cassoulet orders, each with their own shape, which they’ve turned into chapeaux for their ceremonies.
It’s a peasant dish, so peasants cook in what they have. I like the thick browned top skin, so a deep dish pie plate is good for me!
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I use the cassole from Clay Coyote; it is on the cover of Paula Wolfert’s The Cooking of Southwest France. It is beautiful and functional.
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I bought it in Carcassone. Mostly it sits in the cupboard.
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Are we to conclude that the shape isn"t well-suited to much else in your cooking?
Do I remember correctly that some of these have banneton/beehive rings in them, or is yours smooth inside?
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Mostly that I dont use the oven much because it heats up the house…and when its 78F and 90% humidity at 10:30 pm, thats an issue.
I wont make cassoulet until November at best. But should have bought the bigger one.
Mine is mostly smooth on the inside…the rings from being handthrown are visible, but not deep.
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Would it really be a cassoulet if it wasn’t served in a cassole d’Issel?
I, mean, would a tagine be a tagine if it wasn’t served in a tagine? Or a paella if it made and served in anything but a paella pan?
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I think it would, but what do I know? I’m too doctrinaire as it is.
Beans (Great Norther or Tarbais), sausage (make it up), duck confit (fatty leftovers), aromatics…
Cassoulet seems to me to be the quintissential case of peasant tradition run amok.
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No, that’s instant ramen.
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Lets put it this way. If youre invited to dinner and start in on me because it didn’t arrive on the table in the vessel you think it should have, all you’re getting for dinner is salt. And a lot of it.
Peasant food is by its very definition food cooked by people who didn’t have a lot. So going out to buy a particular cooking vessel wasnt going to happen.
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I use my cassole for braising all kinds of stews at low oven temperature, not just for cassoulet.
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This is mostly what I meant about running amok. And making “authentic” cassolet from scratch is beyond expensive-- genuine Tarbais beans are dear, the “right” garlic sausage, too, and duck confit? Crazy. You can easily spend over a Benjamin just on those ingredients for one dish.
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As above, I dont use my oven this time of year if I can help it.
(My countertop oven/toaster/air fryer does a great job and theres only 2 of us…)
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When I was living in France, one of my clients loved talking about food, and they wanted to see an American recipe for French dishes.
They liked Julia’s bourguinon, but howled with laughter at Dorie’s cassoulet…they (rightly) said it was made with scraps and thrown in the oven because Mama was too busy doing all the other chores!
I did make it a few times with Tarbais rather than navy beans, because I could get them without breaking the bank. They are creamier in texture, but not enough to justify the difference in price (my clients made it with navy or cannelloni beans too)
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I have made cassoulet with any number of meats, including leftover roast lamb. I used navy beans, and they get the job done. I love the crust, both on top and the bits pushed into the beans with the back of the spoon. In the past I have used a casserole, but I may try a Mason Cash for more surface area.
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I learned that Great Northern beans are indistinguishable from Tarbais, and a fraction of the cost.
I find there’s a certain proprietary snobishness when many French people citique foreigners’ preps of “their” food. As with wine, blind tastings drive them mad.
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I’ve always respected your judgment, Kaleo! I do have to say, though, that I tried Coco Tarbais beans twice from D’Artagnan, and they did seem to me to hold up to their reputation of being prone to a certain good state for cassoulet–slightly bursted, but retaining integrity overall for a longer spell than Northern or Cannelini beans. They were also a bit larger. I like Tarbais best, but I’d be 50/50 at best on going out of my way to procure them at any hefty increase in price and convenience.
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This group was very open-minded… I brought them good California wines to try when I came home for visits because they were genuinely interested (old vine Zins were a favorite) …and they always peppered me with questions about English cooking terms and how they translated. (I was teaching them English as a second language, so relevant!)
My recipes for chocolate chip cookies and pecan pie were hot commodities.
They laughed at the Greenspan recipe because of the three days and endless babysitting that she calls for. One even said he was sure it was tasty…ita juat not how French people would ever prepare it.
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