Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => Food & Drink => Topic started by: pcolbeck on 19 September, 2017, 11:07:12 am
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As the weather is rubbish and autumn is fast approaching my thoughts have turned to cassoulet. I fancy making one and it being as authentic as possible. I can source most of the ingredients but haricots de soissons are providing illusive this side of la Manche. Does anyone know of a UK source for this particular type of dried bean ?
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Ahh, Cassoulet.
While I agree the local beans are best, I wouldn't get too hung up over them, you can get an authentic experience from normal haricots.
This recipe from Anne Willan (who does authentic French almost better than the French - ran La Varenne in Paris for years) has some useful hints for authentic
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ap5dpo6xWVs/WcD1_Q9r3dI/AAAAAAABDII/FmpKuPYWNlo8Te_hQuYB0mA2ZERIQtCrwCKgBGAs/s2048/IMG_20170919_113555.jpg)
Sorry for getting French from here on
This from a good French "home cooking" book I have
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x-io3P8pb7s/WcD1_UF5PQI/AAAAAAABDII/vQnN4STnZbM9OSgszRMR4VmamSeLfZ9-QCKgBGAs/s2048/IMG_20170919_113842.jpg)
But most significantly these from a book "La cuisine de Sud Oest", which has a chapter on Cassoulets (it starts with "Cassolet is the god of Provencal cooking...."
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h91wwKvW-cM/WcD1_UIGl-I/AAAAAAABDII/ZbD2sXMzFuQSyGRGLHPtJ5tQZrL8s9zwACKgBGAs/s2048/IMG_20170919_114032.jpg)
and
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkRIvl2QiIg/WcD1_d_Mm2I/AAAAAAABDII/Xbb7g1EdV0U-hNDQHGLOdjhv0vxPz25JgCKgBGAs/s2048/IMG_20170919_114042.jpg)
and
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZViYBFSTh_s/WcD1_WWQ33I/AAAAAAABDII/LPHT6rESfPIhH2EDfxqXd-mtiQnn1niPgCKgBGAs/s2048/IMG_20170919_114125.jpg)
Let me know if you need a better quality image or translation of any bits (except for "all" ;) )
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Does anyone know of a UK source for this particular type of dried bean ?
Any good Indian grocery store will provide you with a perfectly acceptable substitute.
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But most significantly these from a book "La cuisine de Sud Oest", which has a chapter on Cassoulets (it starts with "Cassolet is the god of Provencal cooking...."
...which makes me wonder why pcolbeck is insistent on using beans from a specific region of northern France. Am I missing something?
You can get haricots blancs from Waitrose, btw. Or you could use cannellini or butter beans at a push. I don't think it's worth getting hung up on.
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Out of interest, I did some googling - haricots de soissons have been cultivated since the 18th century; cassoulet dates back to at least the 14th century.
Claims of authenticity in recipes are often overstated.
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According to The Book, using soft water is imperative, along with careful cooking (they also suggest 3+ types of beans).
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Do you need to stand on one leg and stir counter clockwise to avoid spoiling les haricots ?
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I think the precise variety of haricot beans is irrelevant. However if dried beans have been at the back of a cupboard for years then you will have problems. Round here one can get fresh haricot beans (cocos de Paimpol) these are nice. I one tried to use Egyptian beans (foul medame) these took forever to soften despite soaking, the recipe wasn't for cassoulet but nonetheless. A lot of traditional cuisine uses meats or other vegetables with some type of pea or bean, one needs to be aware that some peas/beans are poisonous unless properly boiled during the procedure and some need very long cooking. I cook cassoulet fairly frequently. Here in France confit de canard and pieces of duck are easily available (they are by-products of foie gras) and they are traditional in cassoulet.
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Surely 'bucket' type cookery uses what's available at the time and place and anything/everything/nothing is 'authentic'?
A Philistine.
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Do you need to stand on one leg and stir counter clockwise to avoid spoiling les haricots ?
You shouldn't need to go to such lengths as long as you only use beans that have been picked by virgins by the light of the full moon in October.
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Surely 'bucket' type cookery uses what's available at the time and place and anything/everything/nothing is 'authentic'?
A Philistine.
For years I thought cassoulet only came in tins.
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Surely 'bucket' type cookery uses what's available at the time and place and anything/everything/nothing is 'authentic'?
A Philistine.
Surely, Cassoulet was invented to sort of recycle odd pieces of dead animals that would not have been useable otherwise.
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That'll be the sossige you are thinking of
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Or the haggis, or the hotpot, or the goulash, cholent or soup...
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That'll be the sossige you are thinking of
Modern cassoulet is certainly a luxurious version of the original dish. A more basic version of cassoulet is known in Quebec as "fèves au lard", which is just beans baked with chunks of fat...
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Ham I wouldn't trust you books since it says "Cassolet is the god of Provencal cooking....". Cassoulet is from Languadoc and not Provence.
Anyway why harocots de soissons? Apparently that's what its usually made with in South West France so if possible why not? Yes I know any haricot bean should work fine but if I can get them for a not outrageous price I might as well use them.
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Well I was translating wasn't I? It says Occitane, which is precisely correct, and I translated as Provence. Which is on the east, not the west. Good job you didn't pay for that translation then.
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Anyway why harocots de soissons? Apparently that's what its usually made with in South West France...
On whose authority?
It sounds highly unlikely to me, given that they aren't even grown in the region and weren't cultivated until the 18th century.
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If it's 'authentic' you want, you can buy Haricots de Castelnaudary:
https://www.le-marche-au-naturel.fr/haricots-lingots-secs-du-lauragais-castelnaudary-750-g.html
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See, it all comes back to my student house staple, cowboy. Which was chopped up canned meat (any will do, it just has to be a can, so spam, ham, or if you want to be posh, corned beef) in a pan of baked beans.
Best served with white bread and slathered with stork marg.
It's only a matter of time before I open my own restaurant in east London.
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See, it all comes back to my student house staple, cowboy. Which was chopped up canned meat (any will do, it just has to be a can, so spam, ham, or if you want to be posh, corned beef) in a pan of baked beans.
Has to be corned beef for the version my wife makes. And mash on top.
It's only a matter of time before I open my own restaurant in east London.
Have you got the beard for it?
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I suspect not. I have a beard now but at a paltry 1cm it's not really a proper E5 hipster buffer. That said, my chargrilled fish fingers à la Birdseye are unrivalled.
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This is what eating too much cassoulet does to you:
http://www.confrerieducassoulet.com/index.html
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See, it all comes back to my student house staple, cowboy. Which was chopped up canned meat (any will do, it just has to be a can, so spam, ham, or if you want to be posh, corned beef) in a pan of baked beans.
Has to be corned beef for the version my wife makes. And mash on top.
It's only a matter of time before I open my own restaurant in east London.
Have you got the beard for it?
This is all bringing back memories of Panackelty from when I was a kid, my mam still makes it sometimes when I visit home... (remove the mash and replace with slices of potato)
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I once ordered 'cassoulet' in Mali. I received an unadorned plate of beans. Probably for the best, I don't think they have many ducks thereabouts.
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Black eyed peas (not the pop group but the beans)
soak overnight in salted water
next day drain and rinse, then add them to a pot of boiling water with chopped carrots, celery, celery leaves, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 strong chopped chillies
cover and simmer, for a few hours on low heat, but keep the beans covered with water
after serving, add loads of salt and cracked black pepper , a splash of good extra virgin olive oil and few good splashes of tabasco and serve with garlic bread
poor mans food but fit for kings ;)