Duck Cassoulet with White Beans Recipe
- Serves 6-8
- Preparation Time 30MINS
- Cook Time 03HRS 20MINS
4 tablespoons duck fat
400g piece speck bacon, rind removed and reserved for bouquet garni, meat finely chopped
2 brown onion, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoon tomato paste
4 small tomatoes, coarsely chopped
500g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
1 bouquet garni (4 sprigs thyme, 2 fresh bay leaf and 1 stick celery, wrapped in the reserved speck rind and tied with a string)
2 x 500ml Campbell’s Premium Free Range Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 Toulouse sausages or French style pork sausages
250g fresh breadcrumbs
3 tablespoon coarsely chopped thyme
French baguette, to serve
Confit Duck Legs:
100g coarse sea salt
1 clove garlic
2 cloves
5 black peppercorns
1 star anise
finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
4 duck Maryland’s
1kg duck fat, warmed
STEP 1 For confit duck legs, place the salt, garlic, cloves, peppercorns, star anise, orange zest, thyme and bay leaf in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Snuggly fit the duck legs into a deep baking dish and cover in the salt mixture, gently moving the legs around to ensure they are covered on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 3 hours. Preheat an oven to 130C. Remove duck from salt mixture, rinse and pat dry. Place Maryland’s into a deep roasting dish, cover with warm fat and then cover the dish with a sheet of baking paper and seal with a sheet of foil. Place in a preheated oven for 3 hours. Remove from the fat and leave to cool slightly before cutting each Maryland into 2 pieces. Set to one side.
STEP 2 Heat the duck fat in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the speck and onion and cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until the onion is just translucent. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and tomato and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the drained beans, then stir to mix well. Add the bouquet garni, and chicken stock and bring to the boil, skimming the surface of any impurities. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until the beans are tender. Preheat oven to 200C.
STEP 3 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat, cook the sausages, turning occasionally, for 6 minutes or until golden brown all over. Remove from the pan and cut in half width ways.
STEP 4 Place the confit duck and sausages in a 2.5L capacity baking dish. Transfer the bean mixture so the duck and sausages are nicely surrounded by the beans. Combine the breadcrumbs and the thyme leaves and sprinkle over the cassoulet.
STEP 5 Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden.
