The first thing you do is to soak the beans - any kind of dried white beans will do, but haricot beans are traditional. I used half a packet (about 250 grams) and it was not nearly enough - next time I will use double the amount... so that would be a whole packet...
(The great thing about this peasant cooking is that quantities and timings are entirely flexible!)
So, you soak the beans in cold water overnight (no salt, as it hardens the skins and prevents the beans from cooking) and the next day you simmer them on top of the cooker with bayleaves, unpeeled garlic, thyme, parsley and peppercorns for about an hour, until soft but not mushy. I was told by my recipe to add a piece of pig fat but didn't have any to hand.
Meanwhile in another pan, which needs to be a good and big (I use an enamelled cast iron one) you fry some lardons or bits of fatty bacon and some chopped up shallots or onion. Then when they are browning you chuck in a glass of wine and wait for it to be absorbed by the onions. Then you are supposed to take the bacon and onion out before you fry the meat, but I didn't bother - I just chucked the sausages in (four fat Toulouse sausages)
Next you can put in different kinds of meat - lamb chops, pork chops etc but I cheated and used confit duck legs from a tin, saving the fat to roast potatoes another day.
When it boils it can go in a lowish oven (120 - 150 degrees C) for a couple of hours.
There's a lovely topping that goes on this dish - made of breadcrumbs and parsley and garlic - but I was too exhausted to do it today. But there's tons left over (even though my husband had three helpings) and I may make it to go on top of the leftovers when I heat them up tomorrow....
Update: I did the topping for the leftovers and it is certainly worth the effort, even of grating a baguette with a cheese grater...
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