Cassoulet

Slow-cooked dish of southwestern France, emblematic of Castelnaudary, Carcassonne and Toulouse, which dispute its paternity. White beans cook slowly with duck confit, sausage and pieces of pork in an earthenware cassole, the vessel that gives it its name. A crust forms on the surface and is said to be broken several times during cooking. It embodies the Occitan cuisine served in regional palace hotels.