Cassoulet de Carcassonne

Carcassonne, Aude — the mountain variant of the cassoulet triangle, made with Ovis aries mutton leg from the Corbières garrigue above the walled city and, in season (September through November), with Alectoris rufa or Coturnix coturnix — red-legged partridge or quail — added to the cassole alongside the pork. The walled city's altitude and its proximity to the Corbières sheep country make the mutton addition both logical and defining.

The preparation follows the same foundation as Castelnaudary — Haricots lingots parboiled to three-quarter tenderness — but the meat assembly differs critically. Ovis aries mutton leg is cut into large pieces and browned deeply in Olea europaea oil before joining the cassole. Where Castelnaudary is pork-only, Carcassonne is the meeting of lowland pork and highland mutton. In the autumn game season, a whole partridge or two whole quail are placed on top of the bean layer, breast-side up, so the rendered game fat bastes the beans beneath. The crust protocol remains: minimum three crustes broken and folded back. Garlic is used more generously than in Castelnaudary; the Corbières red wine used in the braising gives a tannin structure the lowland version lacks.

• Spanish olla podrida (meat and bean)
• Moroccan harira (legume and lamb)
• Lebanese makhlouta (mixed bean and lamb braise)

Mutton fat renders into the beans and sits deeper than pork fat — earthier, more mineral, with a slight lanolin quality that is the signature of this version. Game bird fat adds a roasted, autumnal top note. The Corbières tannin in the braising liquid gives a dry-finish depth absent from the Castelnaudary version. This is the cassoulet of an autumn feast in a fortified city.