Ingredients

Step by step

1. For the best flavour, prepare the day before (see ‘Get ahead’, above). Season and brown the duck legs all over in a flameproof casserole, starting with the pan cold. Cook over a medium heat, turning, until as much of the skin as you can get to is golden-brown. Lift the duck legs out onto a plate then add the sausages to brown all over in the duck fat. Separate the main parsley stalks from the leaves and wrap the leaves in some damp kitchen paper; put in the fridge for serving. Chop the stalks.
2. Either heat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3 or plug in a slow cooker. Boil a full kettle. Combine the browned sausages, parsley stalks, diced pork, dried beans, onion halves, garlic and stock pots in the casserole or slow cooker pot, poking in the bay leaves if using. Nestle the duck legs on top, then pour in enough boiling water so that everything apart from the surface of the duck skin is submerged (boil another kettleful if needed). Cover with a lid.
3. Cook in the oven for 2½ hours (or for 5½ hours on Low in the slow cooker) until the duck, pork and beans are tender.
4. Lift out the duck legs from the casserole (or slow cooker if using) and strain everything else into a sieve or colander set over a large frying pan to catch the stock. Fish out the onions and bay leaves, if used, from the beans and add these back into the stock. Add the tinned tomatoes, snipping any whole tomatoes into large chunks with kitchen scissors and then simmer the sauce fiercely until it has reduced by roughly a third, then discard the onions and bay leaves, if used. Season generously with pepper, plus a little salt and sugar to taste.
5. Carefully peel the duck skin from each leg in one piece and save. Pull the duck meat from the bones in large chunks, slice each sausage into thirds on the diagonal and return all the meat to the beans. If making ahead, at this point cool, cover and chill the bean mixture, the duck skin and the sauce separately in the fridge.
6. To serve, heat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Combine the cooked beans and meats with the sauce in the casserole or a shallow, ovenproof serving dish. Salt the duck skin and lay on a lined baking tray. Cook both for 35-40 minutes, checking the skin after 20 minutes and then at 5-minute intervals; remove it to kitchen paper to drain when it is golden and really crisp. The cassoulet is ready when the sauce is bubbling (add extra liquid after the 20 minutes if the beans are looking dry at this point) and the top is looking browned.
7. Finely chop the crispy duck skin and parsley leaves, and combine. Scatter over the cassoulet to serve.
   
   *Use gluten-free and dairy-free sausages if required.