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When winter heads our way, bringing chilly temperatures and close, dark nights, my thoughts turn to Cassoulet, the iconic comfort food from southwestern France. It has it all – juicy beans, duck leg confit, sausages and sometimes pork or lamb, slowly simmered in well-seasoned broth, then baked in a wide-mouthed, glazed terra-cotta dish called a . Like any truly traditional dish, there are multiple versions, all claiming to be the “authentic one.” Cassoulet originated in southwestern France. Toulouse claims it — and so does Castelnaudary and Carcassonne — and the recipes vary. Toulouse adherents eschew adding cubed pork. Castelnaudary purists add a bit of lamb, while Carcassonne’s adds partridge. In most restaurants, cassoulets are served in an individual , bubbling with hot juices,and with a bit of duck leg peeking through the top. But at , a vast indoor- outdoor restaurant on the edge of a forest near Castelnaudary, the cassoulets come to the table in family-size , big enough to serve two, four, six or even 10 people, so you can share the dish with your dining companions. I don’t know if Etienne’s even has a single-serving bowl size. I didn’t see one, when I was there as the guest of a bean trader from Castelnaudary. According to him, Etiennne’s has the best cassoulet anywhere, and they use the Lauragais lingot beans known as the Castelnaudary bean. Copious doesn’t begin to describe the cassoulet scene there, with stacks of lined up in Etienne’s kitchen, next to caldrons of simmering beans, ready to be filled and popped into the vast ovens. Here in the Bay Area, we have our own go-to restaurants for cassoulets. Some, like the in San Jose, Menlo Park, Oakland and Larkspur, and in Lafayette, only serve it during the winter months as a special. (Reve will be serving cassoulet Dec. 10-14, for example, and Jan. 7-11; reserve it when you reserve your table.) Others, such as in Yountville and in San Francisco, always have it on the menu. Both Reve Bistro and Bistro Jeanty use made by potter Kathy Kernes at her in Crockett, and they are every bit as beautiful and as practical as those you’ll find in southwestern France. Kernes’ makes in six sizes ($38-$210), ranging from individual to “extra large plus,” which is very large indeed. (Browse the possibilities at Reve Bistro offers take-out cassoulets if you pre-order the week the dish is on the menu. Pick it up — in a takeout container, not a cassole! — then heat it at home. Just note that chef-owner Paul Magu-Lecugy only makes a limited number of portions. “It’s time consuming,” he says, noting for him, it is a two-day process. Le Central’s cassoulet is one of the more elaborate around, with lamb, pork shoulder and boudin blanc, as well as the all-important duck leg confit and slightly garlicky Toulouse sausage. Left Bank uses chef-owner Roland Passot’s recipe (see below) and keeps it simple, limiting the meats to duck leg confit and Toulouse sausages. (Don’t panic. If you’re making this at home, some specialty markets sell duck confit.) The beans are key to cassoulet. Once cooked, they should not be mushy, but hold their shape after the long cooking. In France, tradition calls for either Tarbais beans, a plump, white bean, or lingot beans — a strain of cannellini beans — in making cassoulet. As Passot suggests in his recipe below, you can substitute cannellini beans or Great Northern beans. Rancho Gordo produces , a West Coast-grown bean from the Tarbais strain. Cassoulet isn’t difficult to make. It just requires time and patience. You can make it a couple of days ahead, refrigerate it and then slowly reheat it. That way, there’s nothing to do on the day of but sip a glass of wine while the beans and meats slowly heat to bubbling. Add a green salad and some crusty bread, and you’ll have the perfect winter meal. Or put your coat on and head to one of our local restaurants, where the cooking is done for you. All you need is a reservation. Serves 6 to 8 4 cups dried lingot beans (white kidney, cannellini or Great Northern, will all work) 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped 1 small onion, diced (about 3⁄4 cup) 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 pound slab bacon or extra thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 sprigs of thyme 1 bay leaf 1⁄4 cup duck fat (lard will do in a pinch) 2 pounds pork butt cut in 2-inch cubes 1 cup onions, diced small 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1⁄4 cup tomato paste 1 small can diced tomatoes 11⁄2-2 cups reserved bean water 6 Toulouse sausages 1 small garlic sausage 4 confit duck legs, purchased or homemade (see note below) 1 cup panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil If you are making your own duck confit, start the night before by rubbing the duck legs with a “green salt” mixture — kosher salt, parsley, a couple of bay leaves and thyme ground together. The next day, rinse the duck legs well, pat dry and place in an oven-safe cooking vessel with enough duck fat to cover the legs. Roast in a 225-degree oven for 21⁄2 to 3 hrs. The night before, place the beans in a deep pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Let beans soak overnight. The next day, rinse the beans well. Add the rinsed beans, carrots, onions, garlic, bacon, thyme and bay leaf to cold water and cook, over low heat, until the beans are tender. Strain the beans, saving the water, and set aside the beans. In a large braising pan, melt the duck fat over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, brown the pork butt pieces without stirring. When beginning to brown, start stirring, making sure you scrape the bottom if it starts to caramelize. The pork doesn’t need much color, but it does need to cook in the duck fat for a while. Add lots of salt and pepper. This is not a shy dish. When the pork is nice and brown on all sides, add the 1 cup onions and garlic, and sauté until the onions are soft and cooked through. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and reserved liquid from the beans. Stir, using a rubber spatula to clean the side of the pot. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Bring the heat under the braising pan up to high. Once at a rolling boil, turn down to low heat and add all the sausages. When they are cooked through, remove and set aside. Slice the garlic sausage in half and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return the whole and sliced sausages back to the pot along with the cooked beans. Continue to cook on low heat until the pork is cooked through. Taste for seasoning; add more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the beans and pork to a heavy, wide mouth, earthenware, clay or cast iron baking dish that can hold 5 to 6 quarts. Bake at 250 degrees for about 11⁄2 hours, checking at least every 30 minutes. It may require a bit more time. If the dish is starting to look too dry, add a small amount of reserved bean broth or chicken stock. Add warmed duck legs to the cassoulet and make a breadcrumb topping by combining the panko, garlic, parsley, thyme and extra virgin olive oil. Return the dish to the oven and continue baking until the crumbs brown on the top.
A New Jersey lottery scratch-off player who was “having a bad day” found himself suddenly feeling like a million bucks Wednesday when he hit a big payday. “I figured I deserved something. You know, like $100,” the man told New Jersey lottery officials Thursday when he arrived to claim his $1 million prize. “I was just hoping for like $500 to be able to buy some Christmas presents for people!” The man, who chose to remain anonymous as permitted under New Jersey law, bought a $20 ticket for the 100X Cash Blitz scratch off game at Wolfson’s Market in Lincoln Park. The win is one of three $1 million top prizes in the game, which began in August. The man, however, was without his reading glasses when he won and a friend had to help confirm the numbers, lottery officials said. “I can’t tell the difference between 4s and 9s without my glasses. I had to look at the card like 10 times,” the player said. “I thought I must be misreading something.” The player elected to accept the $602,300 cash value of the prize, lottery officials said. He is currently collecting disability while recovering from shoulder surgery and is a few months being eligible to retire, lottery officials said. More Lottery News Mega Millions jackpot soars to $695M for Friday’s lottery drawing N.J. retiree wins $500K in lottery scratch-off game Powerball winning numbers, live results for Wednesday’s $30M drawing Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.Vietnamese Uniforms Offer US Companies a High-Quality, Lower-Cost AlternativeAP Business SummaryBrief at 11:21 a.m. EST
THE Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) is so far the only third higher education institution (HEI) in the Philippines to have successfully passed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) Institutional Assessment. Overall, TIP said in a media release that it was the 10th educational institution of the time assessed in the Southeast Asian region to garner this assessment. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.
Imprisoned Proud Boys leader balks at answering a prosecutor's questions about Capitol attackThe President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had conferred a Presidential Charter on The Ensign Global College, has received a Presidential Charter making it s fully fledged university to offer its own degrees, diplomas and certificates. Now known as the Ensign Global University, the university college established in 2014, for the nearly eight was was affiliated with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) , Kumasi. The President , Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo- Addo who conferred the Presidential Charter on the private tertiary institution at a ceremony in Accra on Thursday underscored his government’s commitment to academic excellence, innovation and nation-building. The President of the University , Professor Stephen C Adler sharing his joy over the achievement of the academic milestone, expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo and reiterated the College’s vision to be a world-class academic institution, built upon a foundation of excellence in public health and service, that promotes prosperity and growth in Africa. “The awarding of a Presidential Charter to Ensign Global College ushers in a new era of growth and impact for our beloved institution. “We aim to use this newly acquired status as an independent private institution of higher education to extend our impact solving the great challenges facing Ghana, Africa and the world. We are now poised to extend our reach by expanding our work in public health while we introduce new programmatic areas to respond to the needs essential to achieving prosperity. We will do this through graduates who are highly competent and innovative leaders, research and knowledge curation that leads to groundbreaking solutions, and engaged service with people, communities, and institutions around the world, “ he said. Prof Adler said as part of its new initiatives, Ensign Global University will be launching new health and safety programmes aimed at addressing emerging threats, particularly those caused by environmental degradation. Additionally, the President of the Ensign Global university was committed to tackling human trafficking as a public health issue and will facilitate the Master of Business Creation programme, run by the University of Utah in the United States. According to him, Ensign was a private, not-for-profit, non-sectarian tertiary institution located in Kpong in the Eastern Region of the country renowned for training global leaders in public health with innovative academic programmes that addresses rapidly evolving health challenges in Ghana. The university was currently running a Master of Public Health (MPH) programme accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) with its MPH Programme also accredited by the US-based and globally recognised Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). The College was established by Dr. Lynnette and Bob Gay in 2014 out of their desire and passion to transform public health education in West Africa. For the past 10 years, it has worked towards transforming public health education in Ghana through its public health professional training and initiatives such as the Health2Go project, Centre for Global Surgery and Centre for Medical Innovation. It also recently inaugurated a newly completed Centre for Leadership, Innovation, and Prosperity (CLIP). BY TIMES REPORTER
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