Customer Reviews

Le Creuset Cast Iron Shallow Casserole, Volcanic, 30 cm

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First things first, this thing is BIG. That's why I wanted it, but you have to be sure you have space to keep it as its presence is hard to ignore - especially in orange. Assuming you can accommodate it, everything else you know about enamelled cast iron applies to this too - it's wonderfully effective at retaining and distributing heat when you want to cook gently, less so when you want to up the temperature to sear a steak or a slab of tuna.

The shape deserves some comment too. The short handles get hot and make the pan hard to manipulate on the hob, but conversely help it to work well in the oven, where the cast iron effect really comes into its own. Meanwhile, the gently sloping sides make it very attractive but they rather reduce the flat cooking area at the bottom, making the pan less commodious than it might be. They also make stirring a risotto or a paella a little fiddly as it's too easy to help the rice over the edge of the pan. I use this pan as a complement to a deeper, steep-sided, cast-aluminium sauté pan, which also has the advantage of a long handle. Risotti and stir-fries go in the sauté pan, slow-braised pork chops, boeuf en daube and sausage casserole in the Le Creuset.

In conclusion, this is a specialist piece, not an all-rounder, but it's none the worse for that. If you can justify the space and cost, you'll enjoy using it and be pleased with the results.

Also known as the 'Buffet Casserole', this dish is an old favourite of mine.
The shallow but wide base allows even heat distribution/retention, enabling better cooking efficiency at low or medium temperatures and aiding the conservation of energy and lower fuel bills.

Sue Cutts has a chapter dedicated to the use of the SHALLOW CASSEROLES in her book, entitled:-

The Cast Iron Way to Cook

and my current favourite is:-

'Vegetable Casserole with Crispy Topping'

from page 29 - which serves 4-6 as a main course or 6-8 as a starter/side dish.
Simply the perfect dish to brown off under a hot grill.

Suitable for any hob-top or pop it in the oven.
Elegant enough to take directly to the dinner table, especially with the well-designed low lifting handles.

Easy to use and clean by hand, although some soaking and a rub with a plastic brush may be required to remove the more stubborn baked-on food remains.
Dishwasher safe.

Sturdily boxed, complete with CAST IRON use & care leaflet.

Currently available in a rainbow of colours:-

CERISE RED
GRANITE GREY
VOLCANIC ORANGE
GRADED BLUE
BLACK
TEAL (aka CARIBBEAN)
CASSIS
MIDNIGHT BLUE

Also available in a smaller and slightly lighter 26cm/2L size.

I have both the 26cm and 30 cm shallow casserole dishes. As you would expect from Le Creuset, they are easy to use on both the hob and in the oven (or both, depending on the recipe you use them for). As you would also expect of cast iron (enamelled interior), they are also fairly weighty when full.

The 26cm casserole is just about the right size to comfortably prepare a meal for two without the contents being in danger of spilling out if stirred on the hob. The 30cm is large enough to comfortably hold a meal for four. The 26cm fits nicely inside the 30cm, sitting on the lid of the former and thus the pair do not use up an awful lot of cupboard space, which is always a boon.

Cleaning is a breeze, they come up like new in the dishwasher or when washed by hand.

Mine both had sticky labels on the base; I mention this only because I remembered to remove one but not the second - the smoke alarm and a smell of chemical burning alerted me to my omission when the dish in question was otherwise happily cooking on the hob. Oops! Anyway, even the burnt label came off cleanly, so no harm done.

I brought this as a gift and the person was very pleased. It is used regularly and very useful when having friends over. It does take up a lot of room to store and is expensive.

I suppose you get what you pay for, and this is an excellent peice of equipment. I would rather have payed £87, which is what I saw the item being sold for in a Le Creuset outlet when the had a 40% off sale on... Ho hum, you live an learn..

Absolutely does what it says on the tin, i am really pleased with my new pan. Thank you le crueset

This is a fabulously useful casserole. I've had two deep ones for years, and love them, but I've used this one far more often since it came and it looks lovely too!

why can't us brits make stuff like this? i have lots of Le Creuset utensils and can't find fault with them except for the continuous high price. Although the women always complain about the weight. they are cast iron.