Gascony is the home of good country cooking. The food is hearty and wholesome: cassoulet, magret de canard, pâté de foie gras, and everything goose and duck related. Gascon cooking relies on its honest simplicity. Natural flavours are allowed to speak for themselves. Gascony is known for la douceur de vivre, the sweet life, a place for taking it easy and enjoying simple pleasures. Confit de canard can be put in jars, rillettes d’oie can be put in pots, but the food is best savoured sitting around a stone table, in the open air, on a summer evening, with a glass of wine, listening to the chatter of friendly voices.
Recipe for Cassoulet
1kg (2 lb) haricot beans 200g (8 oz) pork rind 500g (1 lb) pork spare ribs 500g (1 lb) shoulder of lamb 200g (8 oz) ham 8 confits de canard 4 onions 4 carrots 1 tomato 6 garlic cloves, chopped 1 bouquet garni 3 litres (3 quarts) chicken stock 200g (6 fl oz) duck fat salt & pepper 100g (1/2 cup) fresh breadcrumbs
The night before, soak the haricots in water to make them plump and soft. On cassoulet day itself, deseed the tomatoes and dice all the vegetables. Cut the meat into generous pieces and brown in the duck fat. Place the vegetables and the meat in a stockpot and cover with the chicken stock. Add the garlic cloves, the pork rind, the bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil them simmer gently for two to three hours. Remove from the heat and pour into an earthenware cassoulet dish. Set the confits de canard into the top and cover with a layer of breadcrumbs. Bake in a moderate oven for about thirty minutes. Enjoy!