Soaking it up - Jack Gilpin's recipes for cassoulet and boeuf bourgignon 

By Jack Gilpin

Auntie May’s first ever French meal was a bit of a culture shock for her. My cousin, Penny, had recently married David Condé, and I’d been ‘volunteered’ to drive Auntie to Tours to inspect their new home. All went well until the third day, when we were invited to dinner by David’s parents.   

Madame Condé had made a delicious stew, and, of course, provided a generous bowl of bread to soak up the rich, delicious gravy. Poor Auntie! She’s always been taught that this was not a thing well-brought-up ladies did, but she did try her best. Madame, meanwhile, just couldn’t understand. Was there something wrong with the stew, that her new friend didn’t want to mop up each last succulent drop?

Mind you, having seen what passes for gravy in some English kitchens (for what it’s worth, I think that whoever invented Bisto should have been drowned in the stuff!) I’m not surprised that such an artificial prohibition exists. But, here are a couple of French stew recipes from my collection … which I’ve ‘anglicised’ a little … which are really worth dipping your bread into. French bread, of course!

Please note that the cooking times are guide-lines only. You’ll often get a tastier result by turning the heat down, and cooking for a proportionally longer time.

Fry the meat in the oil till brown on all sides, then place in a casserole. Chop the onions and garlic, slice the sausage, carrots and black pudding, cut the bacon into strips and fry in the pan for about 5 minutes before adding to the casserole. Put the tomatoes and wine into the pan, gently bring to the boil and add the herbs. Pour into casserole.

Cover and cook in the oven for 45 minutes at 180°C (350ºF or gas Mk. 4) …. Add the beans and chickpeas, return to the oven and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Chop the onions and garlic, and fry in the oil until soft. Transfer to a casserole. Mix pepper with flour, and dip beef in it before frying in batches until brown on all sides. Put in casserole, add red wine, stock, parsley and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 1¼ hours. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Mike K-H's culinary notes:

1. Cassoulet is a Languedoc word derived from 'cassolo', a type of pot. The French version always contains the white beans called 'haricots blancs', and the meat can be goose, duck, mutton or pork.

2. I don't know why, but Boeuf Bourguignon (Burgundy Beef), rather than Boeuf à la Bourguignonne (Beef as cooked by a Burgundy woman) is the commonest name for the second dish. Petit Larousse even shows 'bourguignon' as a noun meaning 'boeuf bourguignon' as well as the adjective applied to anything from Burgundy.  Either way, it's not surprising that purists insist on using a wine from that region. However, Jack is right - there are many other robust potions that produce very tasty variations on the theme. Although Belgian Cassis works, I'd draw the line at American beer or cola - do you usually put a tablespoonful of sugar in your stews? 

3. Donkeys and horses aren't fed fancy fodder, so their flesh is darker and less fatty than beef. Similar to venison, in fact. Look for Diot d'âne, a rustic sausage from the mountainous Savoie region (where most of the 'saucissons secs' come from). Made from dark, lean donkey meat mixed with a little pork belly and macerated in red wine. Just the thing to carry on a mountain ramble.

If you enjoyed this, why not take a look at a few other Freebooters food and recipe articles:

Potato Recipes - with a bit of class -

Pumpkin Soup - cooked in its own skin

The Oysters of Brittany - how they are grown and what they are like

Man in Greasy Shirt 1 - an unusual omelette

Have fun.  

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