Traditional Cassoulet

First, soak Great Northern beans in water overnight in a large container. Drain the beans and place them into a large cooking vessel. Insert a whole clove into the 1/2 onion and add it to the beans; stir in minced garlic, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and 10 cups of water. Bring the beans to a gentle simmer and cook over low-medium heat until they have started to soften, approximately 1 hour. Remove the beans from the heat and drain them, reserving the cooking liquid in the process. Discard the onion with the clove and bay leaf, then transfer the beans to a large serving bowl.

Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cook bacon in a large, heavy pot over medium heat until it is lightly browned and still limp, about 5 minutes. Stir in celery, carrots, and the remaining half of a diced onion into the bacon; season with salt. Cook and stir the vegetables in the hot bacon fat until they are tender, about 10 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat; brown sausage link halves and duck confit in the hot oil until they are nicely browned, about 5 minutes per side.

Season the vegetable-bacon mixture with 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt, cracked black pepper, and herbes de Provence; pour in diced tomatoes. Cook and stir the mixture over medium heat until the juice from the tomatoes has nearly evaporated and any browned bits of food on the bottom of the pot have dissolved, about 5 minutes. Combine this mixture with the beans.

Spread half of the bean mixture into the heavy pot and place the duck-sausage mixture over the beans; spread the remaining beans over the meat layer. Pour just enough of the reserved bean liquid into the pot to reach barely to the top of the beans, reserving the remaining liquid. Bring the bean cassoulet to a gentle simmer on the stovetop and cover the pot with a lid.

Bake the bean cassoulet in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat; add crushed garlic cloves, panko crumbs, and parsley to the melted butter. Season with salt and black pepper, then drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the crumbs. Stir to thoroughly combine.

Uncover the cassoulet and check the liquid level; the mixture should still have several inches of liquid. If the beans seem dry, add more of the reserved bean liquid. Spread half of the crumb mixture evenly over the beans and return to the oven. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. There should be about 2 or 3 inches of liquid at the bottom of the pot; if the mixture seems dry, add more reserved bean mixture. Sprinkle the remaining half of the bread crumb mixture over the cassoulet.

Turn the oven heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake the cassoulet, uncovered, until the crumb topping is crisp, edges are bubbling, and the bubbles are slow and sticky, 20 to 25 more minutes. Serve the beans on individual plates and top each serving with a piece of duck and several sausage pieces.