In the spring of 2014, the program prepared for a group of readers Spoons!, not without preference towards knives and boards, pots and stews, went to meet one of the oldest regions of France - Gascony. With all its main towns, grocery stores and markets, homemade food and wine. The main thing on the trip (well, the goal) is to master cassoulier: a dish of beans, meat, poultry and sausage simmering in the oven, one of the symbols of the region.

As it turned out, for the right to be called “the city in which the best cassouille is prepared”, everyone is fighting here. The palm tree is so far held by Mirpua, a tiny town with an old central square, wooden houses and the largest antique market in the region. Here are copper utensils, books, tons of postcards and books, stamps and records, embroidered tablecloths and vintage glasses. Accordingly, Mirpuis also has the Academie du cassoulet, which knows everything about the dish.

Cassouille Way

From the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean to Toulouse through 5-7 towns passes the so-called cassoulier route. In the list of correct places Narbonne, Carcassonne and the surroundings, Castelnodari and the whole area around Toulouse. In general, it is surprising that Languedoc-Roussillon is not considered a very gastronomic region. Between sea and ocean, vineyards and Spanish mountains, there is something to eat. Meat should be tasted in the form of various sausages and dried leg jambon (jamon, actually), fish - from sardines to tuna, but shells are more respected here. In every large market you can find tables at which you can eat purchased fresh oysters or quickly cooked mussels with a glass of white. The mansion is occupied by anchovies - they have been skillfully prepared here since the Middle Ages. Snails, cheeses and apple pies go without saying. But they were distracted from the cassoulier.

Here it is said that the cassoulier rewrites the history of the region from generation to generation. A dish with the taste of terroir. Recipes are slightly different every 15-20 km: in Kastennodar they use large white beans, pork skin, meat, tenderloin, cabbage, onions and a bouquet are good. In Carcassonne, feathered game is often found in the ingredients, more often partridges, and in Toulouse, cassoules with lamb or duck, as well as blood sausage, are respected. So, there is no single correct and standard recipe.

Cassouille is the god of local Occitan cuisine. Each chef has his own special balance of ingredients and technologies. You are unlikely to be able to find out a recipe for a gram. The secret and uniqueness of the skill, so to speak. We had to show and coordinate. I show — they nod in the affirmative. Yes, this is a real cassoulet. And good. Real — so you have to cook and share. See what comes out.

Cassouille recipe

Basic ingredients

The three most important ingredients are beans, confit meat (long drained beforehand) and pork sausages. Beans. Large, white. Dry. Sometimes colored is allowed, but canned - never. Meat. Goose, duck or pork. Prepared in advance - thawed or baked in its own fat. Canned food set aside again. Sausages. Always pork, from minced meat and sometimes skin. With or without spices. Blood sausage, extra garlic, pork loin (or the bone of the hind pork leg) are allowed. This is the basis.

Technology

Cassouille - in modern terms, is a slow cooking dish. Bake in the oven until crusty. Mix everything. Bake more. Such a baking procedure and “breaking the crust” can take place up to 7 times.

Here they say “the chef and his stove - like an artist with an easel”