Cassoulet is a rich stew from southern France, described by food writer Elizabeth David as a sumptuous combination of haricot beans, sausage, pork, mutton and preserved goose, seasoned with garlic and herbs. It originated in Castelnaudary in the Aude department of the Occitanie region, with tradition, though historically disputed, dating its invention to 1355 during an English siege of the town; its name likely derives from cassolo, a traditional Languedoc cooking pot, or from the clay pots once made in nearby Issel. The dish layers beans with meats such as pork, sausage, goose, duck, lamb or mutton in an earthenware pot, with most recipes finished by a sprinkling of breadcrumbs to form a crust on top as it bakes. Three main regional versions exist: a pork-based version from Castelnaudary, one from Carcassonne adding mutton and partridge, and a Toulouse version combining several meats with Toulouse sausage.
Facts
Origin Period, From (Year) Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own accountCastelnaudary, Languedoc (Occitanie), southern France 2 FAQs
Has cassoulet always been made with haricot beans?
Medieval versions used broad beans, and sources differ on whether haricots arrived in the sixteenth or nineteenth century.
No. In the medieval period, broad beans called favolles, fresh or dried, were used in stews of the cassoulet type. Sources disagree on when haricot beans took their place. The Oxford Companion to Food says haricots reached France through Spain from the New World in the sixteenth century, while Larousse Gastronomique says they were not used in France until the nineteenth century. Today the haricot bean is the principal ingredient.
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In Cuisine
Source Cassoulet (Wikipedia)
Open Questions
Source Cassoulet (Wikipedia)
Uses Ingredient
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Source Cassoulet (Wikipedia)tier 3
Sources
1. Cassoulet (Wikipedia)
Quote
Sources differ on when haricots were first used instead of favolles: the Oxford Companion to Food states that haricots arrived in France via Spain from the New World in the 16th century; according to Larousse Gastronomique they were not used in France until the 19th century.
2. Cassoulet (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction
Cassoulet (, also UK: ,US: ; French: [kasulÉ›] ; Occitan: Cassolada) is a rich stew originating in southern France. The food writer Elizabeth David described it as "that sumptuous amalgamation of haricot beans, sausage, pork, mutton and preserved goose, aromatically spiced with garlic and herbs". It originated in the town of Castelnaudary in the Aude department in the Occitanie region.
- Uses Ingredient: Mutton, Infobox main_ingredient field: Haricot beans with meat (typically pork, sausages, goose, duck, lamb or mutton)
In Cuisine: French Cuisine, lead paragraph
Cassoulet (, also UK: ,US: ; French: [kasulÉ›] ; Occitan: Cassolada) is a rich stew originating in southern France.
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
When did the dish now called cassoulet take its current form and name, given that its own popular 1355 siege-of-Castelnaudary origin story is directly contradicted by the historical record?
Wikipedia's article on cassoulet reports the popular tradition that cassoulet was invented in 1355 during a siege of Castelnaudary, then states plainly that in historical fact there was no siege and the Black Prince sacked and burned the town instead. The same article dates the term cassoulet itself to no earlier than the 19th century per the Dictionnaire de l'Academie francaise, with only the vague label medieval estouffet for an earlier related dish. No source bridges the medieval estouffet and the 19th-century named cassoulet, so origin-start-year and origin-end-year are left unfilled rather than built on the disproven 1355 legend.
What would resolve this A documented dating of the transition from the medieval estouffet to the dish and name cassoulet, replacing the disproven 1355 siege legend with real textual evidence.
food historyCassoulet (Wikipedia)
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