Cassoulet de Toulouse

The white kidney beans on which cassoulet is based (in cassoulet territory several kinds are sold) have evoked pages of comment: they should be ‘long-grained, plump, fresh, creamy and with a thin skin so as to soak up the aroma of the other ingredients/ specifies one cookbook. The ‘other ingredients’ are a tale in themselves, as cassoulet varies from town to town as well as from cook to cook. The cassoulet of Castel-naudary is supposed to contain sausages with fresh and salt pork to flavour