White Bean Sausage Duck Confit Cassoulet David Lebovitz Recipes

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH DUCK CONFIT

Steps:

• Quick-soak beans by putting them in cold water to cover by 2 inches in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover, then soak 1 hour. Drain, discarding liquid.
• Remove skin and bones from duck legs, reserving both, then coarsely shred meat.
• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook reserved bones, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and cloves, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.
• Add drained beans, broth, water, and tomatoes and simmer, partially covered, stirring and skimming froth occasionally, until beans are tender, about 50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice reserved skin, then lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook in a dry medium nonstick skillet over low heat, stirring to separate, until fat is rendered and skin is crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Discard bay leaves, bones, and thyme from soup. Transfer 2 cups solids and 1 cup liquid from soup to a blender and blend until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then return to soup. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and keep warm, covered.
• Heat Armagnac in a small saucepan over low heat just until warm, then carefully ignite with a kitchen match (use caution; flames will shoot up). When flames subside, stir Armagnac into soup along with meat, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with crisp skin.

CONFIT OF DUCK BREAST AND SAUSAGE CASSOULET

Steps:

• Drain cooked beans and pour into an electric slow cooker (4 1/2 qt or larger).
• Remove skin from duck breasts. Place breasts on a bowl and add salt and sugar. Let sit 30 minutes, refrigerated. Rinse breasts well under running water and cut meat into 1 in chunks.
• In a large skillet, brown bacon until crisp. Discard all but 1 tbs fat from skillet. Add onions and garlic to bacon and stir until onion begins to brown. Add broth and wine, bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of skillet.
• Pour broth mixture into slow cooker with the beans. Add the rest of the ingredients and place duck pieces on top.Cover pot and cook for 5-6 hours.
• Uncover and add the sausage slices. Let cook for 10-15 minutes.
• Serve hot.