bouquet garni
1/2 large onion, cut in quarters
2 garlic cloves, crushed
225g salt pork or unsmoked bacon, cut into cubes
15g clarified butter
400g lamb shoulder
350g boiling sausages
1 celery stalk, sliced
4 pieces of duck confit or 4 pieces roast duck
6 large tomatoes
180g toulouse sausage
4 slices baguette, made into crumbs
1. Put the beans in a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak overnight, then drain and rinse.
2. Put the beans in a large saucepan with the bouquet garni, onion, garlic and salt pork. Add 2-3 litres of cold water, bring to the boil and then simmer for 1 hour.
3. Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan. Cut the lamb into eight pieces and brown in the butter. Add the lamb, boiling sausage, celery and duck to the top of the beans and push into the liquid. Score a cross in the top of each tomato and plunge into boiling water for 20 seconds, then peel the skin away from the cross. Chop the tomatoes finely, discarding the cores, and add to the top of the cassoulet. Push into the liquid and cook for a further hour.
4. Brown the toulouse sausage in the frying pan and add to the top of the cassoulet. Push into the liquid and cook for 30 minutes more. Preheat the oven to 160C (315F)
5. Discard the bouquet garni. Strain the liquid into a saucepan and boil over moderate heat until reduced by two-thirds. Remove all of the meat from the saucepan and slice the sausages and pull all of the duck meat from the bones. Layer the meat and beans, alternately, in a deep casserole. Pour in the liquid, to come no higer than the top of the beans.
6. Sprinkle the cassoulet with the breadcrumbs, and bake for 40 minutes. Every 10 minutes, break the breadcrumb crust with the back of a spoon to let a little liquid cme through. If the beans ook a bit dry, add a little stock or water to the edge of the dish. Serve straight from the casserole.
