Before I share this recipe with you, let me take you back in time.

We're in 1872, on his farm in Mesnil. Paul Gabriel Chevrier, a farmer in Brétigny-sur-Orge, is looking at his thermometer and thinking that temperatures are dropping much earlier than usual this year.

So he decides to quickly harvest his flageolet beans to avoid frost.

After drying time passes, imagine his surprise when he discovers his beans are completely dry but have stayed green.

So he repeats the same process for 6 years, always with the same result.

The marketing of this new bean had enormous impact across all of France.

So much so that after his death, a statue was even erected in his honor in the middle of the city of Brétigny. His memory has remained alive because for ages his achievements have been celebrated every year at the same time at the famous bean fair in Arpajon.

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Ingredients for 6 servings

servings
  1. 2.2 lb (1 kg) cod cheeks and tongues (desalted for 2 hours in running water)
  2. 17.75 oz (500 g) chevrier beans (soaked for 18 hours in cold water)
  3. 5.25 oz (150 g) confit poultry gizzards (duck if you can find it)
  4. 2 carrots cut into small mirepoix (small cubes)
  5. 2 shallots cut the same way
  6. 1 small red bell pepper cooked and cut into strips
  7. Thyme, bay leaf, sage
  8. 2.1 cups (50 cl) prepared poultry stock
  9. Olive oil, butter
  10. Salt and freshly ground pepper