Our Valentine's Day dinner at home was southern French classics - Chicken Cassoulet & Salade Niçoise. Why? I just wanted to use
J's special butter beans. When I looked for a recipe with white beans, I ran into cassoulet. Traditional cassoulet is supposed to be very meaty. Ham hock, duck legs, pork belly and sausages, etc. all together in a pot, for example. J may be happy with the arrangement, but I would prefer a little simple version. My cassoulet contained chicken thighs and chorizo. The result was pretty good and still very rich. My favorite part was beans that were smooth and soaked various flavors from other ingredients. Pairing the cassoulet with Salade Niçoise was a good idea that I borrowed from a Japanese chef who trained in France. I also followed the chef's recipe of the salad. It was kinda non-traditional: without anchovies but with boiled potato and green beans. I liked my (the chef's) version. Canned tuna wasn't in high quality, but overall it was refreshing and satisfying. The dinner was lovely and the most importantly it seemed that J enjoyed it. With a little imagination, a quick recipe search, a hard-working Waitrose food delivery, and some cooking time, our table in a little flat in Harrogate, England was just like one at a bistro in south France.
