I need recipes for my poor neglected Le Creuset french oven.....

I have had this baby - and its gorgeous! Cherry Red ;) for about 5 years ....:redface: DH used to work in a high end homewares store so my cupboards are full of this stuff!

I just recently made a casserole twice in it which was yummmmmmyyy - starts on stove top and then into the oven but that was literally the first time I have used it in 5 years!

Just wondering what great recipes I can do in there?? Would any slow cooker reciepes work or plain old casseroles? I haven't made casseroles much (obviously) so I have been looking up the recipes on taste dot com.

TIA you cooking goddesses! :)

Oooh, you can do anything! Casseroles, braises, potroasts, stews, curries of any description. If you are cooking covered in the oven on low heat then you can use sc recipes, as the liquid content will be similar. If in doubt, I just have the liquid level with the meat/veg content, you can always thicken/reduce the sauce if need be. (But I like lots of sauce so probably overdo it a bit).

This recipe includes:

1 Car
1 Cherry Red Le Creuset french oven

Method: Drive to Cailin's house and give it to her :P

Soooo depressing that you've had it for 5 yrs and hardly used it! I've wanted one for about 10 yrs and still don't have one *sulk*

You can do ANYTHING in it! Sooooo Jealous!

:rofl: Cai!! Im sorry! Should I also admit that DH got a blue M & W soup tureen (sp?) for his birthday a few years ago and that still has stickers on it...:redface:I'm getting better I promise!
Ok will be on the lookout on my fav site for all things casseroley, stewy and Ooohhhh curries I make them heaps! Never thought to use it before!:doh:

It's GREAT for risottos hun! I cannot believe that you have one and don't use it, mine gets pulled out about four times a week! You'll be addicted to it soon :)

That's what I'm thinking Sez! Now that I'm in the process of morphing into this domestic goddess who actually cooks!! I want to get as much use out of it as possible!

Here are a couple to get you going:-

Something simple for a cold day..

Chop a couple of onions, carrots, celery sticks, a chopped red chilli and a leek and fry in the casserole dish with a healthy glug of olive oil - season with sea salt.
Once they have sweated down, add some fresh thyme, a couple of chopped chorizo sausages, a good pinch of saffron and an entire shoulder of lamb (with the bone still in it) on top of the veggies.
Add a few bay leafs, 6 whole cloves of garlic. a couple of tablespoons of tomato puree and a couple of cans of chopped tomato.
finally pour in some red wine (or a good stock) until the lamb is covered and bring the whole thing up to a simmer.
Cut out a piece of grease-proof paper to the same size as the pan, and lay it on top of the mixture - this will stop anything burning, or a skin forming.
Put the lid on and place in the oven @ 160 for a good 4-5 hours.
About 30 minutes before it's finished, pull it out - remove the paper and add a couple of cans of cannellini beans and stir them in as best you can, then replace the lid and put it back in the oven.

When you are ready to serve - pull the lamb out and pull the shoulder blade out of it - you can carve it into neat pieces, or just push it apart with a spoon. The beans will make the sauce substantial enough that you won't need rice or potato to accompany it.

Something more complex, but utterly delicious - Chicken Fricassee with vinegar and tarragon. This is a classic french recipe, light and full of flavour.

Cut a 1.5 kg chicken into 10 pieces with the skin still on- (or ask your butcher to do it for you)
- 2 breasts (cut into two)
- 2 thighs
- 2 drumsticks
- 2 wings (tips removed)

Keep the leftover bones and chop them up into manageable chunks.

First we need to make a stock - it is really worth doing this for this recipe, a commercial stock really won't work - you should make the stock in advance.

Take a large saucepan and sear and colour the chicken bones in oil and butter over a high heat until they have a good colour - you are looking for almost burnt colour at this stage, this will get maximum flavour out of them.
Add a 1/2 a small onion (finely chopped) and a crushed clove of garlic, and sweat for 2-3 minutes - keep the garlic moving around to stop it burning and becoming bitter.
Add 120ml of white wine and boil until it has reduced by 1/3
Add 4 chopped tomatoes and a teaspoon of tomato puree, a sprig of thyme and 2 sprigs of tarragon - then cover with water.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Discard the chicken bones and pass the rest of the liquid and veggies through a fine sieve, mashing it down with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
You should have around 200ml of well flavoured stock at this point, if you have a little more then return it to a clean pan and simmer until it is sufficiently reduced.
Cool and then refridgerate until you are ready to use it.

Stage 2 - Now you get to use the casserole dish!
Heat a little butter and oil in the bottom of the casserole dish and sear the chicken pieces skin side down, turning them over after two minutes once they have started to colour. Season with salt and pepper, cover and place in the oven @ 200 for 25 minutes, leave the lid slightly ajar.
Remove from the oven and turn it down to 160
Place the casserole back on the stove and spoon out as much fat as you can - then add 50ml of good white wine vinegar and bring to the boil until it has totally evaporated - turn the chicken pieces in the boiling vinegar until they are nice coloured.
Put the chicken pieces on a serving dish and place them in the oven to keep warm.

To finish the sauce....add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the casserole and gradually whisk in the 200ml of stock, making sure that you scrape the caramelised bits off the bottom of the pot. Now add a tablespoon of whipping cream and 40g of cold, diced butter and whisk well to incorporate - finally add a tablespoon of finely chopped tarragon and another of chopped chives.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and pour over the chicken pieces in the serving dish.

This is a bit of work....but it is one of the spectacular flavours that you ever experience!

Tanstar- is the French oven like the large round saucepans that go stovetop and oven? And Janie, how do you do risotto in the oven?

Yep - exactly right Deirdre! It can go right from stovetop to oven. Maybe Janie does a baked risotto - or else just a normal one on the stovetop using the french oven and not actually using the oven!

Great reciepe bear - sounds amazing!

I do my risottos baked often in a huge cast iron pot.

I/2 onion (my preference, you could use a whole onion) chopped
2 cloves garlic (i just smash it, no chopping or mincing)
1 can tinned roma tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups arborio rice

I add veges to suit me, but you could use mushies, capsicum, sun dried tomatos and a handful of olives for a noice treat.

I made one last night using onion, fennel, roasted pumpkin and fried chicken breast that was just amazing - I'm not a fan of baked risotto - the stirring releases the starch from the rice to get that really nice creamy texture to the risotto.
If it's baked in the oven it just doesn't feel quite right IYKYIM?

LOL I totally get you Bear, just that sometimes I'm too lazy or busy to stir.... but even when I bake I take it out & stir it a few times to get that starch flowing ;)

I'm not a fan of baking risotto either BUT......we used to have it all the time, and since DS was about 3 months (and woke up LOL) I don't have the time to stand there and stir anymore! So I might take a leaf out of your book Christy and bake it, at least partially. Thanks hun, I've been missing my risotto!

Hmmm....I wonder if there is a market for a ice-cream machine that can heat things up whilst churning away to make the perfect risotto.

I do make some baked rice dishes though - try this one...
Ingredients (serves 6)

* 1kg diced lamb
* 180g (2/3 cup) natural yoghurt
* 3 garlic cloves, crushed
* 2 tbs finely grated fresh ginger
* 2 long fresh green chillies, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced
* 1 tsp garam masala
* 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
* 1/2 tsp chilli powder
* 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
* 1 tsp salt
* 400g (2 cups) basmati rice, rinsed, drained
* 60g ghee
* 2 large brown onions, halved, thinly sliced
* 1 x 7cm cinnamon stick
* 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
* 500ml (2 cups) milk
* 1/4 tsp saffron threads
* 1/3 cup firmly packed coarsely chopped fresh coriander
* 130g (1/2 cup) natural yoghurt, extra, to serve

Method

1. Combine the lamb, yoghurt, garlic, ginger, chilli, garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder, cardamom and salt in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours to develop the flavours.
2. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add rice and bring to the boil. Remove from heat. Drain. Rinse under cold water. Drain well and set aside.
3. Melt ghee in casserole over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Add the lamb mixture and cinnamon stick. Spread rice over the lamb mixture. Add the lemon juice. Combine the milk and saffron in a jug and pour over the rice. Increase heat to high until it comes to the boil then Cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Then remove to the oven @ 170 and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Remove from heat and gently stir to separate the grains.
5. Spoon biryani among bowls. Sprinkle with coriander.

Would you like a second wife Bear? Hehe, don't let my DH hear that LOL!

That recipe is right up my alley, I love that sort of stuff! Thank you so much :)

I have a question about saffron, I don't use it much at all......I know it gives a lovely colour, but does it impart any taste?

Saffron has a wonderful flavour - you want to experiment with it then try making something simple like a saffron cream sauce (serve it with a white fish)so there aren't any other flavours to get in the way...if you use a lot of saffron then it can be overpowering....and very expensive!

The lamb shoulder recipe that I posted further up really benefits from the addition of a little saffron too, combined with chorizo and chilli it helps to give the whole dish a bit of a southern spanish/north african feel.

If your saffron has been dry stored for a long time then it's worth soaking it in a little hot water before using (not more than a tablespoon of water), then pour the soaking liquid into the dish with the saffron.

Oh thank you! Also for the tip about the dry saffron, mine's been in the pantry for, well, awhile :lol: Love your work!