Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 8–10 minutes. It was a large, bubbling vat of beans and meat, covered in a crust so dark that it was almost black. The recipe was too large to fit here. Really, really delicious Confited the legs and removed from the duck fat because they were used the next day Use 1 … When Anthony Bourdain cooks with Michael Ruhlman on the Cleveland episode of “No Reservations,” he layers meat and beans together in a giant drum, tops the whole thing off with breadcrumbs and produces a dish most of us aren’t used to seeing on Food TV (and I say that as someone who now works for Food TV): a classic French cassoulet that’d put Julia Child to shame. The first time I had cassoulet in its home turf it was a revelation. So my aim this time was to find a new recipe. Reduce heat to medium and place onion, carrot, and garlic in pot; season with salt and pepper. It was so involved that I avoided making another one for a few years. This loose, almost soup-like stew of beans and meat was so far removed from all versions of cassoulet I'd had in the United States, or even in other parts of France. The first time I made cassoulet , I lined the sides of my pot with pig skin and cooked it for hours. When I was exhausted and finished, I wondered what Anthony Bourdain had been thinking. Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman prepare a Cassoulet for Ruhlman's family during No Reservations.