Tuesday, April 11, 2017

The Universal Cassoulet Academy

So Good
The first time Shelley and I had cassoulet  was here in Carcassonne almost 30 years ago. It was wet. Pouring rain in fact. We wandered around the ramparts and despite our "waterproof" jackets we got quite soaked.

We met up with my brother and his wife later in the afternoon and shivering cold we retreated to a stone walled restaurant with a blazing fireplace, settled in and ordered a big bowl of cassoulet. It was exactly what we needed.

This evening we went next door to the Brasserie Le Dongon, all attempts to find the original restaurant from 30 years ago being unsucessful and tried it again. The Cassoulet Languedocien is a regional recipe and had duck and sausage in it. It came bubbling hot from the oven and was delicious.

I knew cooks in the South of France are pretty fussy about their cassoulet but we were surprised when we learned that they have established The Universal Cassoulet Academy so as to regulate how it is prepared and to make sure no pretenders corrupt the traditions of this classic recipe. (I know a restaurant in Montreal that should get a visit from these guys)

This is serious stuff.  When it comes to this meal their brochure says "Castelnaudary is the Father, Carcassonne the son, Toulouse the Holy Spirit. But they are all Cassoulets. Cassoulet is the God of Occitan culture."

What more can we say except to point out that they offer a recipe,

Give it a try.


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