CASSOULET - Daring Cooks Challenge - Jan/2011

Leia em Português

Our January 2011 Challenge comes from Jenni of The Gingered Whisk and Lisa from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. They have challenged the Daring Cooks to learn how to make a confit and use it within the traditional French dish of Cassoulet. They have chosen a traditional recipe from Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman.

This month, the Daring cooks (I guess most of them live in the Northern Hemisphere) had to make Cassoulet. It is a hot dish very appropriate for the chilly winter. But, I was in Brazil and it is summer there. Temperatures that reached 40°C definitely did not help to make this dish appealing. I was hoping for cooler days but they didn't come. So, I decided to make the challenge as soon as I arrived in Korea, as this was going to happen before the posting day. I bought white beans in Brazil because I had never seen them here. But, guess what! When packing I forgot to include the beans in my luggage! Well, I thought, I will have to sit this one out. But deep in my heart, I really wanted to make it, specially because I arrived in Seoul at -11°C, perfect for the hearty winter stew. Thanks to Lisa and Jenni, who included a quick version of the recipe and many different types of confit to choose from, I could make it, despite being jet-lagged from the 36 hour trip and the 12 hours time difference. It's not the authentic, but a delicious substitution. Anyway, I'll get back to the original recipe one day. 

QUICK CHICKPEA CASSOULET

(Adapted from Thirty Minute Cassoulet by Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way, KQED)

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil (I used some of the olive oil from the garlic confit)

500 g rolled shoulder ham (also called a daisy ham or Boston Butt), tough outer skin removed

350 g Andoille sausage

500g Polish sausages 

1 cup whole button mushrooms 

1 onion

4 large cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

500g chickpeas soaked overnight

1 large tomato

1/2 cup water (some more if necessary)

1/4 teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley

For Serving:

Tabasco sauce

Dijon-style mustard

Directions:

Soak the chickpeas overnight in a large bowl of water.

Rinse the chickpeas and transfer to a pressure cooker. Cover with water (about 1 inch above chickpea level). Cook for 40 minutes (count time only under pressure).

 Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ham, Polish sausage, and Adouille sausage, cut into bite sized pieces.

Cover and cook over high heat for 7 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally.

Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Mix well and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.

 Add the chickpeas, tomato, water, and pepper, bring back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and boil gently for 5 minutes.

At serving time, discard the bay leaf, sprinkle the parsley on top. Serve with white rice, garlic confit, Tabasco and mustard.

GARLIC CONFIT

Ingredients:

1½ cup (360 ml) Olive Oil

1½ tsp (7½ ml) (4 gm) kosher salt (**Note: if using table salt, use ½ the amount)

10 whole black peppercorns

5 sprigs fresh thyme

65 garlic cloves, peeled (about 1 ½ cups/360 ml)

1 dried bay leaf

Directions:

Preheat oven to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark.

Put ingredients in a 1 quart (950 ml) pot, making sure all the garlic is submerged in the oil. Cover pot. 

Bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 1 hour. Let cool.

Transfer mixture to a glass jar; cover surface of oil with plastic wrap. Cover jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. 

Makes 2 cups/480 ml.

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The original recipes, as well as the tempting Cassoulets and Confits created by the other Daring Cooks can be found at THE DARING KITCHEN.