Spring Broad Bean Cassoulet
Fresh Pea & Mint Version
Toulouse Sausage Twist
Spring Cassoulet of Broad Beans
with Confit de Canard
When French markets explode with the first broad beans — this is pure spring on a plate
Spring is my favourite food time in France — after a long hard winter the markets suddenly burst with amazing fresh vegetables, especially broad beans. This light, fragrant cassoulet celebrates them with crispy confit duck legs and a silky vegetable stew.
The taste of French spring — tender beans, crispy duck, pure joy.
Serves
4
4
Prep
30 min
30 min
Cook
1 hour
1 hour
Season
Spring only!
Spring only!
Ingredients – Classic Broad Bean & Duck
- 2 kg fresh broad beans in pods (gives about 400 g podded beans)
- 4 confit duck legs (with their fat)
- 3 carrots, finely chopped
- 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon each chopped rosemary and thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley stalks
- 200 g flat pancetta or bacon, cut into 1–2 cm pieces
- 2 tablespoons tomato passata
- 125 ml dry white wine
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 1 medium turnip, chopped
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Method – Classic
1. Blanch broad beans in boiling salted water for 1 minute, then plunge into iced water and squeeze beans from their grey skins — bright emerald jewels!
2. Scrape excess fat from duck legs. Warm 4 tablespoons of the duck fat in a large heavy casserole over low heat.
3. Add onion, garlic, carrot, celery, herbs and pancetta. Cook gently, stirring, for 15 minutes until vegetables soften but don’t colour.
4. Increase heat to medium, stir in passata and white wine, and bubble until almost evaporated.
5. Add chicken stock, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 40 minutes until slightly thickened.
6. Add chopped turnip and cook 10 minutes until tender.
7. Add peeled broad beans and warm through for 5 minutes. Taste and season carefully (remember pancetta and stock are salty).
8. Meanwhile, crisp the duck legs skin-side up in a very hot oven (220 °C) for 30–40 minutes until the skin is golden and shattering.
9. Serve the silky spring vegetable stew in warm bowls with a crispy duck leg perched on top.
Important: If substituting bacon for pancetta, beware of the salt content — this with the chicken stock can make the dish quite salty.
Fresh Pea, Mint & Lemon Version (even lighter)
- Replace broad beans with 600 g fresh peas (podded)
- Add zest & juice of 1 lemon at the end
- Replace rosemary with fresh mint
Follow the classic method exactly — the peas cook in just 3–4 minutes at the end. Bright, sweet, and pure spring sunshine.
Toulouse Sausage & Bean Cassoulet (winter version)
- Replace duck legs with 6 Toulouse or garlic sausages
- Use 800 g mixed cooked beans (haricot, butter beans)
- Add breadcrumb topping and grill at the end
Brown sausages first, then follow classic method. Finish with garlicky breadcrumbs under the grill — proper hearty cassoulet.
The taste of French spring markets on a plate — simple, seasonal, and utterly delicious.
