Azinat

Blanch the cabbage. Lower the quartered Savoy cabbage into boiling water at about 100 °C for 5 minutes, then drain well. The cabbage should brighten and soften at the outer leaves while the quarters remain firm enough to handle. Blanching removes some raw harshness before the long pot cooking. Lift the heavy hot cabbage carefully and drain away from the body.

Soften the onions and carrots. Melt the 30 g duck fat in a very large stockpot; cook the sliced onions and carrots for 10 minutes without dark browning. The onions should be translucent and the carrots lightly glossy, with no scorched edges. A gentle fat base starts the pot without making it taste roasted. Keep raw pork separate until this base is ready.

Simmer the pork base. Add pork knuckles, rind sausage, bay, pepper and the 3500 ml water; bring to a boil, skim, reduce to a very gentle simmer and cook for 45 minutes. The broth should be lightly cloudy and savoury, with gentle surface movement rather than a rolling boil. A slow start begins tenderising the pork and seasoning the broth. Raw pork juices must not contact ready-to-eat foods; wash tools and hands after handling.

Add cabbage for the long cook. Nestle the blanched cabbage into the pot, cover partly and simmer gently for 90 minutes. The cabbage should become very tender and the pork knuckle meat should begin pulling away from the bone. Long gentle cooking gives azinat its potée character. Maintain an active simmer and keep the pot hot throughout.

Hydrate the rouzole bread. Pour the 180 ml milk over the 150 g bread crumb and let it stand for 5 minutes, then squeeze lightly. The bread should be evenly moistened and soft, with no pool of free milk after light squeezing. Brief hydration softens the bread so it can bind the rouzole without leaving dry pieces. Keep the milk refrigerated until needed and do not leave it warm for extended periods.

Mix the rouzole. Mix the softened bread with the sausage meat, ham, eggs, parsley and garlic to a cohesive thick mass. The rouzole mixture should hold together in a thick 3–4 cm galette without free milk pooling in the bowl. Bread and egg bind the chopped pork filling. After raw pork and egg are mixed, cook promptly and wash hands and utensils.

Brown the rouzole. Heat the neutral oil in a 28–30 cm frying pan; shape one thick galette and cook about 10 minutes per side, 20 minutes total, until firmly browned on both faces. Both faces should be well browned and the galette should be firm enough to turn in one piece. Browning gives the rouzole its characteristic crust before it finishes in the pot. The centre does not need to be fully cooked yet because it will finish in the simmering azinat.

Add potatoes, confit and rouzole. Add the potatoes and duck confit to the pot, lay the browned rouzole on top, cover and simmer gently for 45 minutes. The potatoes should be tender to the centre, the duck should be heated through and the rouzole centre should reach at least 71 °C. The final simmer finishes the rouzole while warming confit and cooking potatoes without disintegrating them. Ground pork/sausage and egg mixture should reach at least 71 °C; reheat cooked confit thoroughly.

Make the broth gratinée. Heat the oven to 220 °C. Arrange the 240 g bread in a heatproof soup dish, ladle over enough very hot broth to saturate it, cover with the 120 g grated cheese and bake for 10 minutes. The cheese should be bubbling and browned in patches while the bread underneath is fully soaked with broth. The gratinée forms the traditional soup course from the pot liquor. Serve the gratinée hot and avoid holding it lukewarm for extended periods.

Serve the azinat. Lift the meats, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and rouzole onto a large platter, portion the rouzole and serve after or alongside the gratinée. The pork should pull easily from the knuckle bones, the cabbage should be spoon-tender and the rouzole should cut into moist, fully cooked wedges. Separating the solid components makes portioning the dense potée practical. Serve promptly; refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.