Ever get annoyed by people who go to the South of France and proceed to rave over the victuals?
Well bite me, because today I tasted my first cassoulet.
The place was the Auberge de L’Ecole de Saint Jean in the tiny village of St. Jean de Minervois. Our group, visiting the Languedoc wine region, had stopped for lunch and ordered the cassoulet. Out it came, a sizzling hot dish of beans, sausage and duck confit bubbling away under a crispy breadcrumb crust.
Creamy and savory, simple yet unctuous, it was like every dream of comfort food made manifest.
Somewhere, a thousand cans of franks-n-beans were crying.
But the flavors in the dish weren’t the only thing in harmony.
It turns out the couple who run the restaurant, Brigitte and Patrick, were sweethearts long ago but things didn’t work out. They went their separate ways but some years ago, Brigitte moved back to the village and opened the restaurant. Patrick still lived in the area selling detergent supplies and it wasn’t too long before they were back in contact. The rest, as they say, is history.
Romance and good beans. Who can ask for anything more?
Cool Beans!