Valeries Comfy Cassoulet Recipes

FRENCH CASSOULET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Trim the excess skin from the duck or chicken and place on a lined baking sheet. Dry the trimmed skin in the oven, checking often, until crispy, about 15 minutes.
• Add the skin to a food processor along with the breadcrumbs, oil and the 1/8 teaspoon thyme leaves and blend until uniform. Set aside. (This step can also be done while the cassoulet is stewing).
• Heat the clarified butter over high heat in a heavy-bottomed saute or frying pan and, working in batches, sear the poultry, pork or lamb and sausage until they are caramelized, adding more butter if the pan gets dry. Remove the meats to a large roasting pan or deep broiler-proof baking dish as they are completed.
• In the same pan you browned the meat in, saute the onions, carrots and celery until they are caramelized. Add the tomatoes, wine, and 5 cups water, deglazing the pan by scraping all the loose particles from the bottom of the pan.
• Drain the beans and add them to the pan, along with the marjoram, parsley, bay leaves and 1/4 cup thyme. Bring the liquid to a boil.
• Pour the beans and liquid over the meats in the roasting pan, cover the pan tightly with foil if no lid is available and bake until the meat is fork-tender and the beans have absorbed most of the liquid and are tender, about 3 hours.
• Remove the meat from the pan, drain the liquid from the beans and vegetables and put it into a saucepan.
• Add two cups of the cooked bean and vegetable mixture to the liquid and puree with an immersion blender or puree in a blender before adding to the liquid. This will thicken the liquid into a sauce.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour the liquid back over the remaining beans and vegetables, stirring to combine.
• Preheat the broiler.
• Slice the lamb or pork and lay it on the beans with the sausages and poultry legs. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top of the cassoulet and broil until the top is lightly browned.

CASSOULET

Steps:

• Sprinkle goose leg with herbs and salt. Let marinate, refrigerated, overnight. Next day, pat dry and combine with melted rendered goose fat. Simmer until tender. Reserve goose and fat.
• In a large pan cover pork rind, pancetta and pig's foot with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer 3 minutes. Drain and rinse meats. Combine blanched meats in a large earthenware casserole with beans, carrots, onion, garlic, bouquet garni and garlic sausage, pricked several times. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches and slowly bring to a boil. Cook, covered, at a bare simmer over very low heat. After 30 minutes, remove sausage and pancetta; when cool enough to handle, slice sausage and dice pancetta. Continue to cook beans for 2 hours or until very tender. Add salt in last 10 minutes of cooking time. Discard carrots, onion and bouquet garni. Drain beans, reserving liquid. Remove large bones from pig's foot and cut into 4 pieces. Cut pork rind into 1-inch squares.
• Make lamb stew: In a deep saute pan cook onions and carrots in reserved goose fat for 15 minutes or until golden and transfer to a plate. Add lamb and brown on all sides. Return vegetables to pan, season with salt and sprinkle with flour. Cook, turning lamb, until flour is cooked. Add wine, garlic and herbs. Adds tomatoes and enough of the reserved bean cooking liquid to cover. Cook over very low heat for 11/2 hours, skimming occasionally. Remove meat and carrots to a plate and strain sauce into a saucepan. Simmer sauce for 15 minutes until concentrated and flavorful.
• To assemble: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Rub bottom and sides of a medium-deep earthenware oven dish with garlic cloves. Layer pork rind and goose, cut into two pieces, and top with 1/3 of beans. Layer pig's foot, lamb and carrots and top with 1/3 of beans. Layer sausage and pancetta and top with remaining beans. Sprinkle with some bread crumbs and ladle enough lamb sauce over top of mixture for liquid to rise to surface of beans. Dust with more bread crumbs and sprinkle with several tablespoons melted goose fat. Bake until heated through and surface begins to bubble. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F or lower, so casserole bubbles gently and bake about 2 hours. After first 20 minutes, baste surface first with lamb sauce, then with bean liquid. Continue basting every 20 minutes, until top forms a golden-crisp gratin crust. Break surface all over with a spoon so that part becomes submerged and rest is moistened by sauce. Break crust at least 3 times. However, if you run out of basting liquids, it is better to stop baking than to risk dish becoming too dry.

CASSOULET

Steps:

• Drain the beans and put into a large heavy casserole, preferably enameled cast iron, with bacon, pork rind, garlic, 1 onion, the carrot, and the bouquet garni. Cover with the 10 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring often, until beans are barely tender, about 1 hour. Drain and return to casserole, discarding onion and bouquet garni.
• Add the remaining onion, the duck legs, demi-glace mixture, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
• Drain the bean mixture in a colander over a bowl and reserve 5 cups of the cooking liquid. Discard bacon and pork rind. Remove the duck legs and cut each in half at the joint. Season beans with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of pepper.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place half the bean mixture in casserole. Add duck legs, duck sausage, and garlic sausage, and cover with remaining beans. Add reserved cooking liquid and drizzle the duck fat over the top. Cover and bake until hot and bubbling, about 2 hours. (Cassoulet may be prepared ahead to this point, then cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days. If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before proceeding).
• Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Uncover cassoulet and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

VALERIE'S CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• Add the tomatoes, poblano, onions and garlic cloves to the prepared baking sheet. Toss with the oil to coat, and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove the garlic, flip the poblano over, and continue roasting until the poblano and onions are charred and the tomatoes are soft and beginning to split, another 15 minutes. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.
• Peel the garlic and remove the skin and stem from the poblano (remove the seeds, too, for a milder sauce).
• Adjust the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• In a food processor, combine the roasted vegetables, cilantro, vinegar, adobo sauce, coriander, cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process until evenly combined but still with some texture, similar to crushed canned tomatoes. Pour into a large saucepot and stir in the tomato puree and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just to combine the flavors. Remove from the heat and season with salt.
• Place the shredded chicken in a bowl, mix with 2 cups of the enchilada sauce and let marinate for at least 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt as needed.
• Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in foil and place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until softened.
• Spread 2 cups of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch broiler-proof baking dish. Remove the tortillas from the oven. To the center of each tortilla, add 1/4 cup of the marinated chicken, a sprinkle of Monterey Jack, and some enchilada sauce. Wrap the tortillas around the filling (they should be about the size of a cigar) and place seam-side down in the baking dish.
• Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining Monterey Jack and the olives. Bake on the center rack for 20 minutes, until the sauce just begins to bubble up around the edges. Turn the oven to broil and cook until the cheese has browned in spots, 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
• Serve the enchiladas with queso fresco, sour cream, avocado, cilantro and lime wedges.