Foodie Swellness: Staub specialty tomato cocotte
As I’ve mentioned, I’m working with Staub and trying out some of their products, and first up is their super adorable tomato cocotte.
For years, I’ve longed for a Dutch oven, namely Staub or Le Creuset. But the cost always stopped me from investing in one. How much braising and soup-cooking do or would I do, after all? (Oh, in case, you’re wondering what the heck a dutch oven is, it’s a large heavy cast-iron pot that you can use on the stovetop or in the oven. ) Now that I’m in a much smaller space (with limited storage space), is a large heavy pot really something I need?
And the answer is yes. I now wish I hadn’t stalled all these years to get one. For one, you can simply use it in whichever way you use a large pot (even if you’re not braising, I mean), I have no idea why but I never thought of it in this way, I really thought of it only for stews. Plus, this tomato cocotte from Staub is so cute that if you don’t have anywhere to store it, it looks great sitting on your stovetop (and even the classic Staub cocottes do as well). Plus, it may cost you a few hundred but it’ll last you a lifetime. Trust, you’ll come to love your heavy, sturdy cocotte very much.
On top of this, of course, there are all of the wonderful dishes you can make in a Staub cocotte. For one, I only recently learned you can bake the easiest no-knead bread using your Staub. Freshly baked bread is one of my weaknesses but I’ve never been motivated to make it from scratch because it seems like so much work, but this one is virtually zero work. I’m more than a little obsessed with this recipe. (And I run…so it’s OK if I eat all those carbs, right? Or that’s what I tell myself…) And there’s delicious recipes like this healthier version of chowder I made (I mostly followed this Canadian Living recipe for Cauliflower Corn Chowder — I had to substitute a few ingredients based on what I had in my kitchen). Next, I plan on trying a ratatouille recipe, and the recipe for braised brussel sprouts, which you can find on page 19 here in this Staub recipe book.
Leave a Comment June 6, 2016