Le Cassoulet de Castelnaudary

Soak the beans overnight in cold water, drain the liquid and cover it with fresh water. Cover the filet, pork leg and garlic sausage (whole) with water and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes and drain the liquid. Wash the meat and add the pork skin. Cover the contents of the pan with cold water and bring to the boil once more. Add the unpeeled onion and garlic, the bouquet garni, peeled carrot, and soaked beans and bring to the boil. Simmer until the beans are ready (approximately 2 hours). Meanwhile cut the trimmed lamb into 2cm pieces. Cut the onion into quarters and then widthways, slice the carrot. Fry the vegetables on a medium heat in some oil until the onion is soft. Increase the heat and add the lamb. Fry until lightly golden, season and add the flour. Stir for a couple of minutes before adding the wine. Once the wine has reduced right down add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of sugar if necessary and cook for 5 minutes. Add a couple of ladles of stock from the simmering beans, the bouquet garni and garlic and cook until it thickens. Remove and set aside the carrot and meat, peel the garlic and return it to the sauce before passing it through a sieve. Remove the vegetables from the stock, chop the sausage and filet into bite size pieces, dice the pork skin and remove the pork meat from the bone and cut it into small pieces, remove the bones. Prepare the duck (traditionally goose) legs, removing the meat from the bones. Take a pot and rub the base and sides with garlic. Layer up the pork skin, duck meat, 1/3 of the boiled beans, a few spoons of sauce, the lamb with carrots, pieces of pork, season with pepper, make another layer of a 1/3 beans, sauce, sausage and fillet, some more pepper, the remaining beans and sauce (setting aside a few spoons). Mix the breadcrumbs with the sauce and sprinkle them on the top. Pour over the goose fat and make a hole down to the bottom of the pot with a skewer. Pour in ½ cup stock and cook the pot in the oven at 150º for 1 hour.