My experience with Le Creuset cocottes

There are many of you who have doubts about the advantages of cooking in a cocotte . That is why today Raquel, author of Los Tragaldabas , tells us about her experience cooking with it, the advantages it brings us, gives us some tips to get the most out of it and ensure its maintenance, and inspires us with some recipes that you will surely love. Welcome to the world of Le Cresuet cocottes !

Le Creuset's cocottes have been with us in kitchens around the world since 1925. This means, in addition to a long history, a success in its enameled iron utensils that are undoubtedly your perfect ally in the kitchen. For me, using Le Creuset cocottes is synonymous with quality, healthy cooking, a perfect result and a perfect presentation on the table. For nearly a century, cocottes have been renowned for their high performance, durability and elegant design.

How to cook in the cast iron cocotte

Cast iron is an excellent material, resistant and highly recommended for cooking with it. If you want to know more about the benefits of this one, Miguel explained it perfectly in this post . Vitrified iron has the property of retaining heat evenly, which means that we do not have to cook over high heat but rather use a medium-low heat, which will allow our food to cook perfectly while maintaining all its qualities. All this implies that energy savings are remarkable. I always, before cooking, place the cocotte on the fire off, turn on the vitro at a low medium temperature and when it heats up I start cooking on it. That's the right way to do it, and don't put it over a strong fire, as suddenly exposing it to a high temperature can damage the enamel.

It is a type of cuisine very typical of our grandmothers, that chup chup that makes our elaborations cook in a traditional way. Stews like this one with chickpeas and spinach , or rice dishes -like this delicious black rice with cuttlefish- are recipes that seem perfect to me and with that flavor so concentrated that you can't get it in other types of containers. This is due to the way it distributes the heat and the vitrified interior, which does not add any additional flavor to the food.

Cast iron can be safely used on any heat source, this includes induction and the oven. Don't tell me it's not perfect! How many times after preparing our dish do we need to give it a final touch in the oven? Well, you can put the cocotte in it without any problem, making your dish look perfect, you just have to take into account that the lid knob is suitable for the oven (in some models it is made of plastic and it would not allow it).

In addition to cooking, you can remember that you can use the cocotte to keep your food in the fridge or freezer, if what we want is to make a dish in advance, and have it ready for the appointed day. Even if we want to present a cold dish on hot summer days, it is the best option so that our preparation stays perfect and fresh just by keeping it for a few hours in the fridge. Do you know that you can make delicious marinades in the cocotte? The enameled surface is waterproof, making it perfect for both preserving raw foods and acidic ingredients used for marinating. A recipe that came out perfect for me and I always repeat it is this Escabeche de Codornices : the flavor is so powerful and delicious that my mother, since she tried it, hasn't changed it for anything.

The variety that Le Creuset offers in its cocottes is very varied: sizes, shapes, colors... the objective is to adapt to the different styles of cooking and cover the needs when serving, because your table will certainly not look the same if the presentation is not adequate. With the cocottes your table will be perfect and its presentation will be unbeatable, in addition to the comfort of having used the same container from start to finish. High, low , round , oval , casserole type cocottes ... and the Doufeu , don't you know it? They are cocottes with the particularity of being able to put cold water or ice on the lid and thus cook while our food is perfectly hydrated, ideal for preparing meats and stews with prolonged cooking.

Le Creuset is so sure of its products that it offers you a lifetime guarantee! Although the initial investment seems high, I assure you that every euro paid is amortized because you will surely spend more in the long run if you do not make a good choice of your kitchen utensils.

Maintenance and cleaning

Maintenance is very important and therefore I leave you some tips to follow:

• To remove, use silicone or wood products. Remember that the surface can be scratched with metallic elements or if you hit it.

• Allow to cool before washing with soap and water.

• If food remains encrusted, do not clean it directly with the scourer: cover it with water and wait for it to soften, and then wash it with a sponge and soap.

• Dry well before storing.

• Do not drag on the glass ceramic, lift it up.

• Choose the right fire for your cocotte, in this way you will prevent the walls from overheating or the handles from deteriorating.

• Never place on the base of the oven.

• Let it heat up gradually, so the cooking will be more regular.

• To preserve the internal vitrification, it is advisable not to heat the cocotte empty. We must always put oil, butter or any liquid completely covering the bottom of the cocotte.

some recipes

I leave you with some recipe suggestions so that you can enjoy your mouth -I'm sure you'll love them!

Meatballs in teriyaki sauce

bread en cocotte

Carrot cream

winter cocotte

Seafood soup

Old Fashioned Chicken Fricassee

New Evolution model from Le Creuset

Le Creuset has just launched the new model of cocottes, called Evoltion. This new 2015 model is very similar to the traditional cocotte model but presents certain improvements. You can discover them in this post .