Instructions: Cassoulet, like other hearty dishes that come to mind - bouillabaisse, chili, onion soup - is peasant fare. Despite the controversies that rage regarding the proper preparation of these one-pot meals, everyone agrees that they are hearty, nourishing, essentially
*simple* foods, elevated to greatness by the skill of the cook and the matchless combination of ingredients that he or she chooses to employ.

Cassoulet is a specialty of the Languedoc, the southwestern region of France between Spain and Provence. Three towns - Toulouse, Castelnaudary and Carcassonne - claim to make
*le vrai cassoulet.*

The battle over authenticity can grow very heated indeed, and to the combatants the distinctions are vast. For our purposes, suffice it to say that cassoulet is a dish or white beans and meats, simmered long together, as rich and fragrant a pot of baked beans as youre ever likely to eat. Confit doie (preserved goose) may or may not be present, and lamb (or mutton) can also come or go from your cassoulet.

Pork, often including pork sausages, is the common denominator, along with the beans of course, and a very commendable meal can be made of just such a dish.

To get a taste of the real thing, however, we suggest the following recipe: some pork, a little lamb, garlic sausages and, in place of the preserved goose, a duck. This is our version, slightly streamlined, but nevertheless authentic. Cassoulet is neither quick nor inexpensive to prepare. It is not a dish for only the most experienced cook, though, and the various cooking steps can be spread over 3 or 4 days. Serve it as the centerpiece of an important buffet

(it always impresses), or offer it to a group of close, food-loving friends as a hearty midwinter lunch to be followed by a nap. (A story is told of a sign in the door of a shop: "Closed on account of a cassoulet.")

While cassoulet is a meal in itself, a light appetizer (oysters, say, or a consomme) is not out of place; a simple green salad and a dessert of fresh fruit would be welcome. Serve a dry wine - a full-bodied red, white or even a rose. Regional wines that would be especially appropriate include Fitour, Corbieres, or Cotes due Roussillon.

Afterwards, youll want to serve a good
*digestif*. An Armagnac from the neighboring region of Gascony would do the job nicely, as would a fiery Calvados, or even a Green Chartreuse. And afterwards, of course, the nap.

Score the fat side of the pork rind, cover it with cold water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, cover with cold water again, and repeat the process, this time simmering for 30 minutes. Reserve the pork rind and its second cooking water.

Drain the beans and place them in an 8-quart oven-proof pot with a lid. Cover them with water by at least 3 inches, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook briskly, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let beans stand in the cooking liquid.

Cut off wing tips of duck and set them aside, along with neck, heart and gizzard. (Save liver for another use.) Pull all the fat out of the duck and season the cavity with salt and pepper. Put the duck in a small roasting pan. Put the lamb bones in a second small pan and roast, along with the duck, in a preheated 450F oven for 45 minutes. Drain accumulated fat frequently. Remove from oven after cooking time; duck should still be slightly underdone; lamb bones should be well browned; reserve lamb bones. Drain juices from duck cavity into a large bowl and reserve. Cool, cover and refrigerate duck.

In a heavy skillet, brown the cubed lamb in batches, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Do not crowd the pan. Remove the browned lamb to the large bowl and reserve.

Without cleaning the skillet, saute the pork cubes and the reserved duck giblets and wing tips in the same fashion, seasoning with salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon of the thyme and the allspice. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of olive oil if the skillet is particularly dry at this point. Reserve the browned pork in the same bowl with the lamb.

Do not clean the skillet. Melt the rendered bacon fat in the skillet and saute the onions and carrots for about 20 minutes, stirring, or until tender. Add to the pot with the beans.

Add the vermouth, along with the meat juices accumulated in the large bowl, to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Lower heat slightly and cook briskly, stirring, until vermouth is slightly reduced and all browned cooking particles remaining in the skillet have dissolved.

Pour the vermouth into the beans.

Stir in the tomato paste, the pork rind cooking liquid, the beef broth, remaining thyme, 6 of the garlic cloves, chopped, and the bay leaves. Add additional water, if necessary; liquid should just cover the beans. Put the pork rind, fat side down, on top of the beans, and cover the pot.

Bake in the center of a preheated 350F oven for 2 to 2.5 hours, or until the beans are completely tender. Remove and cool to room temperature, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, prick the skin of the garlic sausage all over with a fork and simmer in a pan of water for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Put the salt pork in a pan of cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain, cover with cold water and repeat, reserving the salt pork in its cooking water.

Remove the pot of beans from the refrigerator. Discard the lamb bones, the bay leaves, the duck neck and wing tips, and - if you can find them - the heart and gizzard.

Drain the salt pork; cut off the rind and discard it. Chop the salt pork into cubes and place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Puree to a paste, dropping the 3 remaining peeled garlic cloves through the feed tube while the motor is running. Stir the paste into the beans.

Skin the duck, pull all meat from the bones, and cut into chunks.

Stir duck into the beans. Skin the garlic sausage and cut into rounds; stir into the beans.

The beans will now cook for another 1 1/2 hours. If they are too dry (it is preferable that they be too moist), stir in another cup or two of warm water. Smooth the top of the beans and sprinkle heavily with half of the bread-crumb and parsley mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 325F oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, stir the top crust into the beans, sprinkle on the remaining bread crumbs and parsley, and bake further - for another 45 minutes, or until crust has formed and browned well. Serve immediately.

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