Serves
6-8 people

Method
If by chance you’ve forgotten to pre-soak the beans, put them in a large pan, cover them with boiling water, bring them back to the boil, cook for a couple of minutes and then turn off the heat. Cover the pan and leave them for at least an hour. Drain them and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the same pan and cook the lardons and chopped onion for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions begin to brown. Add the chopped garlic, stir, then tip in the beans. Pour in boiling water to cover the beans, add the bay leaves, stir and cook at a brisk simmer for about an hour until the beans are tender but not disintegrating. (Start testing them after 45 minutes.) Turn the heat off and leave the pan on the stove.

Meanwhile, make the lamb stew. Cut the lamb into big chunks, removing any particularly fatty bits, (but not all the fat). Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or casserole and brown the pieces quickly on both sides (you may have to do this in two batches).

Remove the lamb from the pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes till soft, Stir in the chopped garlic and the Chair de Tomate or the tomato puree and cook for a minute and then add the chopped tomatoes, if using, and the herbes de Provence or oregano. Stir in the stock and season with salt and pepper, then return the lamb pieces to the pan. Cover and cook slowly for about 45-50 minutes until the lamb is just tender. Stir in the chopped parsley.

Now cook the duck and the sausages. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C/400 F/Gas 6. Smear a roasting tin with a little oil to stop the duck sticking. Remove any excess fat from the legs, then arrange them skin side down in a single layer. Season generously with sea salt and roast for 20 minutes. Pour off any excess fat into a bowl (hold onto this), turn the duck pieces over, salt again and cook for another 20 minutes until the skin is crisp, pouring more fat off if necessary. Set aside.

Finally, brown the sausages in a little oil over a moderate heat in a frying pan, Do this quite slowly so that you accumulate a sticky residue. Put the sausages on a plate and cut each into 3 pieces. De-glaze the pan with a little hot water and reserve.

Now for the final assembly. Lightly grease a very large casserole or earthenware dish (or two smaller ones). Using a slotted spoon, put a third of the beans in the bottom of the dish, picking out any bay leaves. Arrange 3 of the duck legs and half the sausage pieces and lamb over the beans and spoon over half the liquid from the lamb stew. Season with pepper, then repeat with another third of the beans and the remaining meats and most of the rest of the liquid, including the 'stock’ from the sausages. Finish with a layer of beans and the rest of the liquid from the lamb stew. (You should still have some water left over from cooking the beans. Hang onto it.) Cool the cassoulet, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight (or leave it in a cool place if you can’t fit it in the fridge).

Bring the cassoulet to room temperature before you re-heat it. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C/375 F/Gas 5. Sprinkle the top of the cassoulet with two thirds of the breadcrumbs and trickle over some of the cooking juices from the beans and - if you’re feeling especially indulgent - a little of the melted duck fat. Bake for 1.5 - 2 hours, breaking the crust down into the beans a couple of times. Add more bean liquid or duck fat if it looks dry, more breadcrumbs if it seems a bit soggy - the objective should be a lovely crisp golden crust. Serve with a French-style green salad and plenty of gutsy red wine.