“War! HUH! What
is it good for?.” – War (Edwin Starr).
In the midst of the Hundred
Years War, during the siege of Castelnaudary in Languedoc, by the English
during the 14th century, a regional dish was born of conflict. The
Cassoulet.
Cassoulet is a slow cooked
casserole typically of meat (pork, sausage and duck confit) and white beans
(haricot, lingot, fava beans). This assemblage of ingredients is a reflection
of what little was available to the southern region and people of Languedoc
during the Middle Ages. Lore has it when
Edward the Prince of Wales, in 1355 led the siege of Castelnaudry, villagers gathered
beans and leftover meat into a large stew to fortify their warriors for battle
against the siege.
Different beans used of cassoulet, top to bottom: Lingot, haricot and fava.
Cassoulet is traditionally presented
in an earthenware pot (cassolle) with
slanting sides local to the potteries from the terre
d’Issel, Issel in the vicinity of
Castelnaudry and prepared through a slow cooking method of using
residual heat from being cooked in a hearth breaking down the beans allowing
the fat and flavour of the meat to saturate into. Cassoulet is a dish of
convivial nature best enjoyed through the pleasures of large company. It is
said that because the meal created during the siege of Castelnaudry was so
hearty, it gave village warriors the strength to emerge victorious. Thus, the cassoulet
was deemed a symbolic defender of French culture. This is not surprising as
certain foods can construct a cultural identity (Shugart, 2008) that highlights
its solidarity as the meal that defeated an army.
From top to Bottom: Castelnaudry cassoulet, Toulouse Cassoulet and Carcassonne cassoulet.
The
composition of cassoulet varies between regions based ingredient avaliability.
Between the Languedoc towns of Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary, slight variations
include meats used. Pork shoulder, sausage and duck confit for Castelnaudry
Cassoulet, mutton for Carcassonne and duck confit, Toulouse sausage and bread
topping for Toulose Cassoulet.
So,
I’ll tell you what war is good for. Still absolutely nothing. But if any
culinary good was to come out a war, it would be this particular regional dish
from Languedoc, France.
Photo and information sources
used:
Shugart, H. A. (2008). Sumptuous texts: Consuming “otherness” in the
food film genre. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 25(1), 68-90.
Links:
Cassoulet photos: Toulouse cassoulet, Carcassonne cassoulet, Castelnaudry cassoulet
Fava, haricot, lingot beans photo
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