7 Variations On How To Serve And Enjoy Cassoulet!
At The Good Food Network, we love to share our ideas with you through our blog posts. Today, we are excited to talk about cassoulet and share some new ideas to enhance your dining experience. Our previous blog post, “How to Serve and Enjoy Cassoulet,” inspired us to build on it with even more delicious suggestions.
While our cassoulet dishes are already complete and satisfying meals, we have received helpful feedback from our customers over the years, as well as developed our own creative ideas to add some variety and spice to your cassoulet. These suggestions are perfect if you enjoy our cassoulet and want to try something new.
Feel free to use any or all of these ideas, depending on your personal taste preferences. We have intentionally omitted specific quantities as they may vary depending on the size of your cassoulet dish. Additionally, we tend to cook with a focus on intuition and creativity rather than exact measurements at The Good Food Network.
7 Variations For Serving Cassulet
Cassoulet With Additional Fried Shallots And Garlic
Over a decade ago, we were introduced to this clever idea by a dedicated and generous customer who remains one of our biggest fans. Simply slice one or two shallots and one or two cloves of garlic finely, then fry them gently in a small amount of olive oil until they turn a golden brown colour. Add this mixture to your cassoulet for a delicious twist.
By incorporating fried shallots, you’ll add a hint of sweetness to your cassoulet, while the garlic will provide a more pronounced flavour. Feel free to experiment with the amount of garlic to suit your taste preferences.
Cassoulet With Chorizo
For a unique and flavourful twist to your cassoulet, try adding some cooking chorizo cut into one-inch pieces. To prepare, simply slice your preferred chorizo and gently fry it in a pan with the lid on. No additional oil is necessary as chorizo is naturally fatty. Once the chorizo has turned golden brown, add it to your cassoulet.
The type of chorizo used will impact the taste of your cassoulet. For example, spicy chorizo will add a kick to your dish, while smokier chorizo will give a richer, smokier flavour. We have found that adding chorizo adds depth to the flavour of the cassoulet, which we appreciate.
You can find good quality chorizo at major supermarkets, local delis, and online stores such as Brindisa.
Cassoulet and Duck Confit
This is an idea that has been a great success whenever we have family and friends over. Although our duck cassoulets already contain confit, preparing a separate tin of duck confit and adding it just before serving takes the dish to a whole new level.
To prepare, warm up your cassoulet as usual in a saucepan. In a separate tin, prepare your duck confit by opening the tin, brushing off any excess fat, and placing the legs in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Then, simply place the duck confit legs on top of the cassoulet just before serving.
This simple addition substantially increases the percentage of duck confit in the dish, resulting in a richer, more flavorful cassoulet that your guests will love.
Cassoulet And White Wine
We’ve found that this next idea works particularly well when combined with variation one (cassoulet with shallots and garlic). To add an extra dimension of flavour to your cassoulet, simply pour a little white wine (not too much) into the dish to loosen it up. Then, warm up your cassoulet and let it simmer for a little longer than usual to ensure the wine is cooked through.
It’s important not to overpower the cassoulet’s natural flavours with the wine, so just a hint of background flavour is all you need. This subtle addition complements the other ingredients perfectly, resulting in a deliciously balanced and nuanced cassoulet that’s sure to impress.
Cassoulet And Chicken Stock
We’ve noticed that cassoulet can sometimes have a dense or stodgy texture. To remedy this, we like to add a cup of chicken stock to the mixture, which helps to loosen it up and create the texture that we prefer. While we prefer to use good-quality stock, even a stock powder cube can do the trick.
Cassoulet And Tomato
Most cassoulet recipes have some degree of canned/ chopped tomatoes in them. If you enjoy tomato, you can add just a little more tomato to alter the flavour. It’s always a question of nuance – best underdo it than overdo it.
Cassoulet With French Petit Pois
A customer recently suggested a new idea to us, which we found interesting. They recommended adding French petit pois Cassegrain to our cassoulet to both loosen the texture and add a sweet note.
The petit pois are stored in a flavorful juice, which enhances the taste of the cassoulet. We have yet to try this method ourselves, but given our knowledge of both our cassoulet range and French petit pois, we believe it will be a success. We should note, however, that while this customer also suggested adding redcurrant jam, we find that to be a step too far.
Bon Appetit
We’re always experimenting with new ways to serve cassoulet, and we’ve come up with seven delicious variations that we think you’ll love.
From adding shallots and garlic to incorporating chorizo and white wine, each of our variations adds its own unique twist to this classic dish. And whether you prefer your cassoulet with duck confit or a little chicken stock to loosen it up, that will work a treat.
Ever wondered how to serve, eat and store cassoulet? Check out our other post here, where we’ll give you all the tips and tricks to enjoy this wonderful French delicacy.