Joe’s Cassoulet: White Beans, Roast Beef, Roast Pork, Goose, Celery, Carrots, Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Herbs & Spices
topped w/ crispy Bacon & Croutons
History and etymology
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According to tradition, cassoulet was invented in 1355 in the town of Castelnaudary, under siege by the English during the Hundred Years’ War.[n 1] In medieval times the dish was referred to as an estouffet.[6] The Dictionnaire de l’Académie française dates the term cassoulet to no earlier than the 19th century.[7] The current name is a diminutive of the Languedoc cassolo – a cooking pot – according to the Dictionnaire de l’Académie française;[7] Elizabeth David states that it comes from “Cassol d’Issel”, the original clay baking pot made in the small town of Issel, near Castelnaudary.[8]
In cassoulets, the haricot bean is now always the principal ingredient.[9] In the medieval period, broad beans (favolles), fresh or dried, were used in stews of the cassoulet type.[9] Sources differ on when haricots were first used instead of favolles: the Oxford Companion to Food states that haricots arrived in France via Spain from the New World in the 16th century; according to Larousse Gastronomique they were not used in France until the 19th century.[10]