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Cassoulet: A French Obsession
"Cassoulet is the culinary equivalent of turning straw into gold." -Kate Hill
From an authority on cassoulet and French charcuterie comes a collection of recipes, lore, and personal stories highlighting one of France's most celebrated, and controversial, dishes: the cassoulet. Imagine sitting around a table with selected good friends, approved family members, plenty of wine and a huge cassoulet, piping hot from the oven. With this book in hand, this fantasy is within reach.
Author Kate Hill, who runs charcuterie programs and courses on line from her 18th Century French farmhouse in Southwest France, the Kitchen-at-Camont, writes like a good friend helping you out over the phone as you attempt something just slightly beyond your culinary comfort level. Hill covers every detail that goes into cooking an authentic cassoulet, from the cooking vessel to the essential ingredients (beans, meat, and broth), to the cooking and serving of the finished dish. In addition to an in-depth recipe for classic cassoulet from Hill's town of Camont, she also indulges us with an all-duck cassoulet, a quicker pork-and-beans version and much more.
The beautiful photographs by Tim Clinch were taken over several seasons of cooking and making cassoulet at Camont and especially one chilly November by the warming wood stove in the kitchen.
From an authority on cassoulet and French charcuterie comes a collection of recipes, lore, and personal stories highlighting one of France's most celebrated, and controversial, dishes: the cassoulet. Imagine sitting around a table with selected good friends, approved family members, plenty of wine and a huge cassoulet, piping hot from the oven. With this book in hand, this fantasy is within reach.
Author Kate Hill, who runs charcuterie programs and courses on line from her 18th Century French farmhouse in Southwest France, the Kitchen-at-Camont, writes like a good friend helping you out over the phone as you attempt something just slightly beyond your culinary comfort level. Hill covers every detail that goes into cooking an authentic cassoulet, from the cooking vessel to the essential ingredients (beans, meat, and broth), to the cooking and serving of the finished dish. In addition to an in-depth recipe for classic cassoulet from Hill's town of Camont, she also indulges us with an all-duck cassoulet, a quicker pork-and-beans version and much more.
The beautiful photographs by Tim Clinch were taken over several seasons of cooking and making cassoulet at Camont and especially one chilly November by the warming wood stove in the kitchen.
143 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2015
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31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Want to read
December 27, 2020Not is reluctant to accept my claim that Iris Murdoch's A Fairly Honourable Defeat contains the greatest cassoulet scene in the English language. Does anyone know of a serious rival? I'm curious.
November 4, 2025
Ask me anything about Cassoulet
February 18, 2017
[By the way, the Kate Hill who wrote this is NOT the fantasy/romance/vampire author. This Kate Hill is a chef and writer who lives in the Southwest of France. The book discussed here comes from https://www.ranchogordo.com/products/...]
I received a couple of books for my birthday, and this is the first one I read. It's a great book on cassoulet, along with its terroir, its ingredients, and the people in the author's community in Southwest France who grow the beans, make the charcuterie, and throw the pots for cooking vessels.
This book might be lost on someone who hasn't had cassoulet in a town in Southwest France (e.g., Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary) or hasn't tried to make it her- or himself. I've made cassoulet 4 times while reading widely on it. The first attempt is not worth mentioning. The 2nd used a Cooks Illustrated recipe, and was kind of meh and dry. But then I tried the recipe from d'Artagnan (http://www.dartagnan.com/duck-cassoul...) and watched their video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q76-k...) and that really did the trick. I've done that twice and it compared pretty well to what I've had in France. Next time I will be following the recipe here. Based on my limited experience, I don't have a lot of quibbles, though I will note that it is claimed on p. 101 that a 4-quart cassoulet will feed 10 people. Not in my house! Compared to d'Artagnan, this one is probably a bit beanier: d'Artagnan recommends pouring in a demi-glace liquid at the end; here Kate Hill says use the water from soaking the beans. I also found it quite interesting that she advised using Toulouse sausage that doesn't contain garlic and/or wine: Toulouse sausages you source in the States seem always to more than just the pork. She is also fine with Rancho Gordo tarbais beans. I've used beans from both France and Rancho Gordo, and I must confirm her advocacy for the Rancho Gordo beans.
What is great about this book is that it fills in a lot of reasons for why certain beans are used, why you don't want smoky flavor, why you don't need breadcrumbs, and much else. It includes an all-duck recipe, a "summer" cassoulet recipe, and a recipe for a gardure.
I'm already hungry.
I received a couple of books for my birthday, and this is the first one I read. It's a great book on cassoulet, along with its terroir, its ingredients, and the people in the author's community in Southwest France who grow the beans, make the charcuterie, and throw the pots for cooking vessels.
This book might be lost on someone who hasn't had cassoulet in a town in Southwest France (e.g., Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary) or hasn't tried to make it her- or himself. I've made cassoulet 4 times while reading widely on it. The first attempt is not worth mentioning. The 2nd used a Cooks Illustrated recipe, and was kind of meh and dry. But then I tried the recipe from d'Artagnan (http://www.dartagnan.com/duck-cassoul...) and watched their video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q76-k...) and that really did the trick. I've done that twice and it compared pretty well to what I've had in France. Next time I will be following the recipe here. Based on my limited experience, I don't have a lot of quibbles, though I will note that it is claimed on p. 101 that a 4-quart cassoulet will feed 10 people. Not in my house! Compared to d'Artagnan, this one is probably a bit beanier: d'Artagnan recommends pouring in a demi-glace liquid at the end; here Kate Hill says use the water from soaking the beans. I also found it quite interesting that she advised using Toulouse sausage that doesn't contain garlic and/or wine: Toulouse sausages you source in the States seem always to more than just the pork. She is also fine with Rancho Gordo tarbais beans. I've used beans from both France and Rancho Gordo, and I must confirm her advocacy for the Rancho Gordo beans.
What is great about this book is that it fills in a lot of reasons for why certain beans are used, why you don't want smoky flavor, why you don't need breadcrumbs, and much else. It includes an all-duck recipe, a "summer" cassoulet recipe, and a recipe for a gardure.
I'm already hungry.
May 14, 2020
Loved it but was hoping for a vegetarian version!
December 29, 2021
If you want to learn how to make true French cassoulet, this is the book for you. Although a slim volume, it is packed with information. I can hardly wait to try.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews