Even if you don’t readily know the name, you’ve certainly taken notice of their brightly colored hues of their noticeably durable, obviously quality cookware.
And if you’re like me, you’ve coveted the day you could add a piece to your growing kitchen collection. What cook doesn’t covet owning a quality, enameled baking vessel that performs each and every duty it’s assigned at the stove or oven and is equally presentable at the table.
If only Le Creuset® also created boyfriends worthy to take home to the parents for presentation, we’d really be in business.
While they may not be in the match-making business, Le Creuset® definitely knows cookery. And now, they’ve added yet another baking beauty to their storied line of distinctly cool kitchen cooking accessories and I’m giving you the chance to win not just one, but TWO Cocottes, for yourself.
Earlier this year Le Creuset asked me to develop and photograph a few new recipes for the latest addition to the Le Creuset family, the uniquely shaped Garlic Cocotte.
The larger 2 ¼ quart Garlic Cocotte is the perfect size for soups, baked pastas and of course side dishes like the Balsamic Vegetable Bake I developed for their site. While I’m a huge fan of their brightly colored cookware, the Garlic Cocotte, with it’s neutral sand color, is seeing some serious dinner service since it matches nearly every table setting palette. It’s the ultimate stove /oven / to the table vessel.
Baked Balsamic Vegetables Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound red potatoes cut in half
- 1 pound carrots bias cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 leek white and some of the green parts, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot peeled and thinly sliced
- 10 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup basil chopped and divided
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- ¼ cup mint chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Add the red potatoes, carrots, leek, shallot and garlic cloves to the Le Creuset garlic casserole dish. Mix the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and the vegetable broth and season with the kosher salt and vegetable broth. Add to the vegetable mixture and sprinkle with ¼ cup basil. Stir to combine.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until carrots and potatoes are fork tender and lightly browned. At about 45 minutes and add the peas and a little more vegetable broth if the mixture has dried out, just do it doesn’t burn while continuing to cook.
- Remove from oven and season with more kosher salt and pepper if desired and stir in additional ¼ cup basil leaves and chopped mint. Serve immediately or at room temperature.
- ** Cooking time will vary depending on size of your vegetables and oven temperature. I check the amount of liquid in the casserole half way through cooking to avoid burning.
How to Roast Garlic and Garlic Aioli
These pots are made from the same enameled cast iron as the larger Le Creuset dutch ovens. They cook evenly and efficiently, sealing in juices for the perfect bake or braise. They’re simply the one type of cookware you’ll have forever.
