Toulouse Cassoulet with Duck Confit

Drain the soaked beans and rinse under cold water. Peel and halve the garlic head crosswise. Dice the onions, peel and slice the carrots, and peel, seed and chop the tomatoes. Cut the pork belly into lardons and the pancetta into cubes.

Blanch the pork belly lardons: place them in a saucepan of cold water, bring to a boil over high heat, cook for 5 minutes, then drain and pat dry. Discard the blanching water.

In a large Dutch oven or cassole, melt 2 tbsp duck fat over medium-high heat. Brown the pork belly lardons and pancetta, stirring occasionally, until deep golden on all sides - about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.

Add the Toulouse sausages to the same pot and brown over medium-high heat, turning every 2 minutes, until evenly coloured - about 6 minutes. Remove and set aside; don't cook them through, as they'll finish in the oven.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions and carrots to the fat remaining in the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and just beginning to colour - about 10 minutes.

Add the tomato puree, stir to coat the vegetables, and cook for 2 minutes until it deepens in colour. Add the chopped tomatoes, white wine, whole cloves, peppercorns and bouquet garni. Stir and cook for 5 minutes until the wine reduces by half.

Add the drained beans, garlic head halves and enough warm stock to cover everything by 4cm. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 60 minutes, until the beans are just tender but still hold their shape - they'll continue cooking in the oven.

Remove the bouquet garni, garlic halves, cloves and peppercorns with a slotted spoon. Season the bean broth with salt and pepper, then use tongs to nestle the browned lardons, pancetta and sausages back into the beans, distributing them evenly.

Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Place the duck confit legs skin-side up on top of the bean mixture, pressing them gently into the surface - the broth should come to just below the surface of the beans, so add a splash of warm stock if needed. Scatter the breadcrumbs evenly across the top and drizzle with the remaining duck fat.

Transfer the uncovered cassole to the oven and bake for 90 minutes. A golden croute will have formed by this point - use the back of a spoon to gently break and push the crust down into the beans, then return to the oven uncovered.

Bake for a further 60 minutes, then break and submerge the crust again in the same way.

Bake for a final 30 minutes, until the croute is a deep amber-gold and the broth beneath is thick and glossy. The pork belly lardons will be well past food-safe by this point and should be meltingly tender - around 90°C internally, if you want to check with a thermometer. The duck confit and sausage are essentially already cooked through by the long bake, so there's no need to test them separately; just make sure everything is piping hot throughout.

Rest the cassoulet uncovered at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving directly from the cassole at the table.