Restorative Massage : Cassoulet with Dijon Gratin

The consensus last night was that this might have been the tastiest thing I have ever cooked. I don't disagree. People make a cassoulet complex but really it is a French farmhouse dish which is very much 'set and forget', with some rough chopping at the start and then nothing to do for a few hours. The dish is perhaps called 'cassoulet' for a reason : it is the name of the heavy dutch oven used. It is the cassoulet that does the work, not the chef. Something magical happens to the ingredients after about three hours. If you taste the dish sporadically, you'll discover it changes markedly, like an open bottle of wine. I think the celery really makes the dish which transforms into a restorative gravy with the tomatoes and sausages after a few hours. The taste is amazingly clean for such a superficially heavy meal.

The potato gratin is always a crowd pleaser and you can use the top rack of the oven whilst the cassoulet bubbles at the bottom. You're going to need a cast iron dutch oven with a heavy lid, and a shallower glass/ceramic pan in the shape of a lasagne dish for the gratin.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CASSOULET (substitute at will obviously)

- Six sweet Italian pork sausages or vegetarian sausages

- Three good lugs of olive oil

- Two large onions, roughly chopped

- Three tomatoes roughly chopped

- Large tin of tomatoes with juice (the Italian brands always seem to be awesome)

- Some spice. I used a tablespoon of chipotle sauce but you can use some red chilli flakes also.

- Four cloves of garlic, crushed.

- Tablespoon of paprika.

- Tablespoon of dried herbs de Provence or 'mixed Italian herbs' from the jar.

- Generous hits of salt and pepper.

- Small tub of mushrooms (20). Quickly snap the stalk off and break in half with your fingers.

- Six celery sticks, chopped into small pieces.

- Two tins of beans, drained. Large white beans are best (branded 'butterbeans' in the US).

- Two glasses of red wine. French table wine with some body and tannin is ideal (no pinot!).

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GRATIN

- Three good lugs of olive oil

- Cheese. I use grated cheddar. I use a decent amount (a 7oz / 200g small pack). Don't be shy!

- Two cups of sour cream

- One cup of milk

- Very generous use of salt and pepper

- Two heap tablespoons of dijon mustard

- Two heap tablespoons of dried rosemary

- Eight large potatoes, skinned and cut very thin lengthways. The thinner the better.

METHOD

Four hours out....

- Set oven at 325F or a moderate heat.

- Place all cassoulet ingredients APART FROM THE BEANS into the dutch oven, stir, cover, and cook.

- You can cook this for as long as you want but three hours is the minimum I would say.

- Stir every half hour and monitor the consistency. If it is too dry add some water or wine.

With one hour remaining.....

- Add the beans to the cassoulet. It keeps them firmer this way.

- Put the gratin ingredients in the dish, mix so it is all covered uniformly. Cover dish with tin foil.

- Place at top of oven (it needs a bit more heat).

Near serving time......

- You want the cassoulet sauce to be thick, having scraped it off the dutch oven base a few times.

- The gratin should have absorbed the milk/cream/dijon/cheese mix.

- The only way to screw up gratin is to undercook it so the potatoes are hard and wet. Avoid this!

- Once the consistencies are right, serve with the wine. Done right this dish is like a deep massage.