Well of course I could have answered It's Boss time! Any Sprinsgteen fan would have understood but this time, cassoulet was the subject (evn though I'd suggest listening to Springsteen while having cassoulet, can't beat that!).
Rumor has it:
During the siege of Castelnaudary during the “100 years” war (1337 – 1453) was cooked the very first beans “estofat”.
Gathering all the leftovers available, the cooks from this ancient time prepared a unique dish made with beans and various meat pieces in order to give strength and power to the warriors defending the city. After that marvelous lunch, …and a bit of wine too…, the warriors charged the British army who immediately left in panic and, according to legend, did not stop running until they arrived to the coastal line of the Channel.
During the siege of Castelnaudary during the “100 years” war (1337 – 1453) was cooked the very first beans “estofat”.
Gathering all the leftovers available, the cooks from this ancient time prepared a unique dish made with beans and various meat pieces in order to give strength and power to the warriors defending the city. After that marvelous lunch, …and a bit of wine too…, the warriors charged the British army who immediately left in panic and, according to legend, did not stop running until they arrived to the coastal line of the Channel.
The Recipe, straight from the official website of Castelnaudary (which is between you and me the BEST place to eat cassoulet)
Ingredients
-350 to 400g of dry Haricot Lingots
-2 legs of duck or goose confit, cut in two pieces each
-4 pork sausages of 80g each
-4 pieces of pork meat, 50g each. Preferably leg, shoulder or belly
-250g of pork skin, of which half will be used after the cooking for the final assembly
-A little of bacon
-1 spoon of concentrated tomatoes
-1 poultry carcass, or few pork bones
-Onions
-Carrots
-Garlic
You see where I'm going: we decided, before Spring/Summer arrive in Chicago to fest with a home made cassoulet.
You start with covering the bottom of the dish with fat
Then you add more pork belly because you can never have too much
Gaetano home made duck confit
The final result
Cassoulet has nothing fancy and is not supposed to. On the opposite, this is a dish to be shared with friends and family.
Great evening with friends, food and wines.
We started with 2 champagnes although totally different. The Pierre Peters is simply great, vibrant, mineral, balanced. All you can ask for. The Jean Vesselle Reserve is easy to drink, not overly complex but crisp and balanced.
A nice mix of quite different wines followed to pair with the cassoulet.
The 2005 Eddie Feraud Châteauneuf-du-Pape was a nice surprise after trying a 2006 that I did not like.Nice nose with plenty of garrigue, prune and light, fresh licorice.This is certainly ripe but manage to stay balanced despite a rather low acidity. Nice fruits on the palate with rich strawberry and cherry with prune and other dark fruits. Interesting earthy notes. Hint of minerality as well. It drinks very well right now.
The 2004 Domaine Laffont Madiran Erigone had a masculine nose with meaty notes along leather, plum and chocolate. Full body, firm tannins, this is a wine which needs food. Plenty of burlat cherry (somehow reminds me a little bit of bandol). Nice wine, not overly complex. No rush to drink.
A very good 2006 Chateau de Mayragues Gaillac, 50% Duras and 50% Syrah, very peppery and bright juicy fruit. Balanced and fresh. Almost gamay like fruits.
Also interesting to try a 2001 Bodega Catena Zapata Nicolás Catena Zapata (blend of malbec and Cab Sauv). Very young but also very ripe and very simple. Not really my cup of tea but it is always interesting to try some "older" wines from regions you're used to drink only young wines.
To go with a very, very, very good dessert made by Mary, we had a really nice 2001 Jurancon from Lapeyre. Balance, not very sweet with plenty of white peach skin and orchard fruits.
A great evening and for a moment, Castelnaudary was really not that far away from Chicago...
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