Choose the right casserole dish

It stews, sears or roasts. You can use it in the oven or on the hob: the casserole dish is a pillar of traditional cooking. To each their casserole, to each their style.

All good casserole dishes have one thing in common: they retain heat. This is because they heat up and cool down slowly, and this leads to inimitable dishes. Just try making a stew or a pot au feu in a saucepan…

For acidic mixtures or broth, opt for enamelled cast iron. You can leave it to stew for hours over a low heat. Enamel is very resistant and it is a perfectly neutral material so your food will not undergo any changes.

Cast iron has other advantages. It adds a special touch to cooking meat, encourages grilling, and once it has been seasoned it becomes non-stick. A rabbit stew cooked in a cast iron casserole dish or Dutch oven will take on a whole new dimension… You can also roast in the oven and braise vegetables without heating them too much because the grilling occurs much sooner.

Then there is the modern option of casseroles in coated aluminium. The more dogmatic amongst us may call it scandalous but it has to be said that they have some serious advantages such as minimal maintenance and cleaning. And if they are very thick, they distribute heat very well and cool down slowly. Above all, they weigh next to nothing. When you take a full casserole dish out of the oven, that makes a difference!