Cassoulet

Cooking primarily in larger professional kitchens has translated to, ahem...slightly larger recipes than most hom chefs can handle.  This recipe for cassoulet, using the Duck Confit from a previous recipe post, is just such a recipe.  While this recipe makes for a fair amount of cassoulet and would be suitable for a crowd, it is also easy to reduce the recipe by half or even thirds.

• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 15lb ham hocks
• 3 onions
• 1 head of celery
• 4 medium sized carrots
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3lb white beans, some people like cranberry beans, cooked in pork stock or white beef stock
• 12 duck confit legs, removed of some of the fat that has congealed on the outside
• 2 1/2lb of pork sausage links, blanched and browned
• 2 onions
• 1/4 cup raw garlic cloves

Using the first 6 ingredients, make a quick pork stock.  Reserve the meat from 4 hocks for use later in the recipe.  Line a large roasting pan with 1 inch of the cooked beans.  Arrange the 12 duck legs, sausage (cut in half lenthwise) and the pork hock meat over the beans.  Using a blender, puree the 2 remaining onions and the remaining garlic.  Place this puree over the beans and meat.  Top this mixture with the remaining beans and add the quick pork stock to just cover the beans.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees and cook for an additional 3 hours, pressing beans down gently every 15 or 20 minutes during the cooking.  Portion the cassoulet into some cool earthenware serving dishes and garnish with chopped fresh herbs.