A winter warmer

Warm your cockles with this mouth-watering duck cassoulet dish bursting with flavour and deeply satisfying.

Penrose Kitchen’s slow-cooked duck cassoulet with caramelised onions, primrose herd ham hock, sausages and bacon

Penrose Kitchen is an award-winning restaurant on the outskirts of Truro. Serving a prestigious menu packed full of freshly cooked seasonal produce, the restaurant champions delicious food and drink, coupled with great hospitality and served alongside the beautiful surroundings of tranquil lily ponds. This recipe promises to be a warming meaty feast, full of flavour and exquisite produce.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1kg haricot beans

1kg primrose herd ham hock

55g of duck fat

4 large onions, chopped

12 cloves of garlic, large,
thinly sliced

800g of carrots, cut into 5mm thick slices

1 large onion, cut into quarters

2 bay leaves

1 sprig of thyme

4 primrose herd pork sausages

4 small Cornish duck legs

800g unsmoked primrose herd bacon, cut into rashers 1cm thick

3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

Cornish Sea Salt, to season

Freshly ground white pepper

100ml red wine

Method

• In separate bowls of cold water, soak the dried beans and ham hock for 12 hours, changing the bean water three times.
• In a large frying pan, heat 30g of the duck fat over a medium heat, add the onions and cook slowly until caramelised, about 10-15 minutes.
• Reduce the heat, add the garlic and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the mixture is close to a purée consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• In another large saucepan, place the drained haricot beans, ham hock, carrots, onion quarters, bay leaves, thyme and red wine. Cover with water, about an inch above the beans. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 1 hour during this period.
• Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquor, and place into a large bowl. Discard the herbs and onion quarters and remove the bone from the ham hock, reserving the meat.
• Heat half of the remaining duck fat in a large saucepan, over a high heat. Once hot, add the sausages and cook until browned all over. Remove the sausages and leave to drain on kitchen paper.
• In a large earthenware cassoulet dish, spoon the bean mixture in. Add the sausages, duck and back bacon rashers.
• Pour enough reserved bean cooking liquor over the top so that everything is just covered.
• Preheat the oven to 150 °C/ gas mark 3
• Cook for 4 hours but check after 2 hours to ensure the liquor hasn’t evaporated, if so top it up with a little water.

TOP  TIP
The cassoulet is ready when the crust is deeply caramelised and a knife goes through the beans easily when inserted. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.