The Mogette from Vendée

Bean Spread
Cassoulet
Mogette, Artichoke, Pancetta and oven dried Tomatoes
Mogette à la mode de Vendée
Mogette and Vegetable soup
Roast leg of Lamb with ragoût of 

Cassoulet is the most famous dish from the South West of France and was created during the Hundred Years' war (14-15th Century). It is essentially French country cooking at its simplest and most basic as it consists of white beans cooked with herbs, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and various meats. It could be translated as "white bean pot stew" or "meat and bean casserole".  As with all great French regional dishes, however, something of a cult has developed over its preparation and consumption, and arguments rage throughout Languedoc over which is the most authentic or original version.
There are as many Cassoulet recipes as cook but for all recipes there as some basic rules to follow: A good Cassoulet has to include 70% of beans and 30% of meat.

 There 3 famous recipes: 

1.  Cassoulet de Castelnaudary (probably the purest version), is made up with pork meat.

2. Cassoulet de Toulouse, richer as it has Confit, lamb, and sausages.

3. Cassoulet de Carcassonne, made up with partridge.

Cassoulet Recipe
(5 servings)

- 1.5 lb. Mogette, soaked overnight in the refrigerator
- 1/2 lb. unsmoked bacon or Pancetta in 1 piece
- 6 oz. fresh pork rind or fatback, in 1 piece, rinsed well
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2 medium onions, halved
- 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
- 1 bouquet garni
  (5 parsley sprigs, 3 celery leaves, 1 sprig thyme, 1 bay leaf, 5 whole cloves, and 10 peppercorns, tied in cheesecloth)
- 10 cups water
- 4 confit duck legs*
- 3 cups duck and veal demi-glace, dissolved in 3 cups water
- 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- Coarse Sea salt* and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 links (8-1/2 oz.) duck and Armagnac sausages, lightly browned, then halved crosswise
- 1/2 lb. fresh garlic sausage, cut into 8 slices
- 1/4 cup rendered duck fat*, melted

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°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. 

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 12 hours
Cook Time: 3 hours 35 minutes

Roast Leg of Lamb with Ragoût of Mogette
Beans, Artichoke, Pancetta and Oven Dried Tomatoes

- 2 cups fresh bread crumbs
- 6 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp. of each chopped rosemary and chopped parsley
- 3 tbsp. Olive oil*
- 3/4 tbsp. Dijon Mustard*
- One leg of lamb (6 to 7 pounds), boned

For the Bean Ragoût:
- 1 pkg. Mogette (1.1 lb.), soaked and cooked (reserve 2/3 cup cooking liquid)
- 4 artichoke hearts, quartered and simmered in white wine, onion and water (reserve 2/3 cup cooking liquid
- 2 tbls. Olive oil*
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2/3 cup Mogette cooking liquid
- 1/3 cup artichoke cooking liquid
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 tblsp. unsalted cold butter
- 1 tblsp. finely chopped
- fresh thyme
- 2 tblsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
- Sea Salt* and freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 lb. pancetta, julienned, sautéed until crisp
- 4 oven-dried tomatoes

The Lamb: Preheat the oven to 475ºF. Combine the crumbs, garlic, herbs, olive oil and mustard in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Place the lamb on a rack in a baking pan. Season the lamb with salt and pepper to taste. Spread half of mustard mixture on inside of lamb. Roll and secure with string. Sear lamb on all sides and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden. Reduce the heat to 350ºF, remove the lamb and spread the remaining 1/2 of mustard mixture evenly over the top. Return to the oven and continue roasting until medium rare, about 1-1/4 hours. Let rest 10 minutes and slice thinly on the bias.

The Bean Ragoût: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots, carrots and celery and sweat for 5 to 7 minutes. Increase heat to high and add the cooking liquids and chicken stock. Cook until reduced to 2 cups and strain. Place the beans and artichokes in the saucepan and add the stock. Cook until the liquid has reduced to 1/4 cup. Add the butter, thyme and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mixture onto a platter and top with the Pancetta and tomatoes.

The Mogette à la mode de Vendée

- 1 pkg. of Mogette (1.1 lb. (count 2.5 oz. per serving)) soaked overnight
- 6 Garlic
- 2 carrots thinly sliced
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 6 tbsp. Olive oil*
- Sea Salt and pepper to taste*

Drain the Mogette and put into a stewpot. Cover with water 1/2 inch above the beans. After the first boil discard the water, drain the beans and cover again the beans with BOILING water. Add the garlic and let simmer for 2-1/2 hours adding water when necessary.

This dish can accompany ham, pork ribs or duck but in Vendée people spread it on a toasted slice of bread with salted butter, it is called "la Grillée de Pois"

Mogette and Vegetable Soup

- 3 tbsp. Olive oil*
- 2 cups of each chopped onion and chopped celery
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. of each dried thyme, dried rosemary, crumbled
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- 8 small red potatoes, chopped
- 1 pkg. Mogette (1.1 lb.), soaked in enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches overnight and drained
- 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- Parmesan, freshly grated

In a large pot heat olive oil over moderately high heat and cook onion, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary, stirring occasionally, until onion and celery are translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrots, red potatoes, beans, stock and 5 cups of water and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup, covered, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until beans are tender.

Stir in the wine and additional stock or water to achieve desired consistency. Remove bay leaf. In a blender purée 2 cups of the soup until smooth and stir into soup. Adjust seasoning with Sea salt and pepper and stir in parsley.

Serve soup with Parmesan.