For years, I’ve been in love with my Le Creuset cookware. (I have two.) I use them to braise stews, meatballs, soups, ratatouillaise… :) But I’ve also often wondered how to deploy them in other ways. Lo and behold, I was delighted to discover Le French Oven by Hillary Davis, a new cookbook completely devoted to the cocotte (aka Dutch/French oven). (And, psssst — I’m giving away a copy! Find out more at the bottom of this post.)
Hillary is a food journalist, cooking instructor, mom to a Pomeranian pup named Fez, and the author of four books. In Le French Oven, she pens an ode to enamel-coated cast iron cookware, with recipes for all seasons, as well as tips for purchasing and maintaining. Today, Hillary shares her weeknight cooking secrets, and a recipe for one-pot pasta Niçoise…
On the importance of toast:
I always manage to have a really good sourdough or country bread around. So my favorite quick meal is to make a tartine (the French word for open-face sandwich). I look to see what’s in the fridge or pantry. If I have cold chicken leftovers, I’ll spread mayo on the bread, top with lettuce and tomato and thinly sliced chicken and more mayo, with a generous amount of coarsely ground black pepper. If I have great tomatoes, it will simply be a perfect summery tomato and mayo tartine with a grinding of sea salt.
On cooking fast meals:
I concentrate first on making what I call a flavor bomb. It usually starts with me opening a can of tuna and dumping it in the food processor. Then I might throw in 4 to 5 cloves of garlic, kosher salt, some Dijon mustard, half a bottle of capers, a can of anchovies. It all depends on what I have around, but the intent is to make a highly flavored paste.
On how to deploy the flavor bomb:
I toss it into spaghetti, slather it into an omelet, add olive oil and use it as a salad dressing or to make a chicken salad. I think flavor first, then create the meal from that.
On cooking in the French oven (and only the French oven):
In my newest cookbook, my recipe for Niçoise pasta uses a technique for cooking pasta in a French oven. First, you cook the pasta in wine and chicken stock rather than water to produce a much more flavorful pasta. Then, you make a flavor bomb from tuna, anchovies, hot pepper flakes, and garlic. Once the pasta is cooked, you mix it in just before serving.You can cook the pasta all at once in the French oven and carry it to the table to serve from. This is a true one-pot meal that is quick and delicious.
One-pot Niçoise Pasta / Pâtes à la Niçoise
Adapted from Le French Oven by Hillary Davis
Serves 6
*Note from Ann: In this clever recipe, everything cooks in the same pot — you don’t even need to drain the pasta. (Californians take note! This is good drought cooking :) Tuna and anchovies get blitzed in the food processor to create a rich and savory sauce. I was initially dubious about using so many strong flavors, but the white wine and lemon juice offset any fishiness. “Personalize this recipe by creating your own version of a flavor bomb, or by simply stirring in a jar of marinara sauce at the end,” says Hillary. “Quick and simple.” In the summer, she suggests making this recipe in the French oven, then chilling it in the pot and serving cold.
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 5-ounce cans tuna, drained
4-5 anchovy filets
5 large cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 pound uncooked fusilli, medium shells, or short rigatoni pasta (or any dried short pasta)
3 cups dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper
In a food processor, blend the tuna, anchovies, garlic, mustard, olive oil, and lemon zest. Hillary calls this paste a “flavor bomb.”
In the French oven, warm the remaining oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the pasta, wine, stock, hot pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the pasta is cooked, about 7-9 minutes.
Stir the tuna-anchovy paste into the pasta. Add the lemon juice. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until the pasta and sauce are creamy in texture, and everything has warmed through. Add the parmesan, stirring until the cheese is melted and well-blended into the pasta, adding dashes of lemon juice, chicken stock, or water, as needed. Stir in the tomatoes and basil. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.
*Le French Oven by Hillary Davis Giveaway!*
Hillary is giving away a copy of her book to one lucky reader!
To enter:
1. Leave a comment below with your favorite slow-cooked dish.
2. For an extra entry, follow Hillary on Twitter (@MarcheDimanche), tweet the following, and leave a comment to let me know: I’m entered to win Le French Oven by @MarcheDimanche from @AnnMahNet. More info: www.annmah.net.
3. For an extra, extra entry share this post on Facebook. Leave a comment to let me know.
The contest ends Tuesday, October 13, 2015. A winner will be selected at random and announced here. Good luck!
For more about Hillary, visit her blog, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
(Non-food photos from Hillary Davis.)
UPDATE: The winner, chosen at random, is Karen Wirima. Thanks for playing, tout le monde!
My wife said she is making her Russian Braised Chicken Thighs with Carrots, Potatoes and Thyme yum the best
tweeted https://twitter.com/cjsorel/status/651421492522172416
shared on facebook https://www.facebook.com/christopher.sorel/posts/10206393699773982?pnref=story
My favorite is either a brisket or a pork shoulder.
I just got my first cast iron dutch oven. I’m in love with it. So far my best use of it has been my favorite Pot Roast. I’d love to win this book for some new recipes to use it.
We use these pots for everything from soup to chili, which we made both of this weekend. We also braised short ribs.
tweeted! https://twitter.com/IlisaStPierre/status/651435591087837184
Oven baked stew of any kind I love the thick richness and comfort when cooking and eating stew
Pork shoulder on the smoker or pot roast.
Shared and followed on Twitter. https://twitter.com/chickie717/status/651436766830940160
Love roasting a chicken in the crockpot
I love beef dishes. Chuck roast is amazing!
Ow can one choose a favorite recipe? They are all so wondeful. But if i had to choose, i guess a brisket wouldbe first.
Love braised short ribs! Love my LC, thanks!
Shared on FB
Ottolenghi’s 5-hour chickpeas. The best!
Slow cooked Beef Stew.
My favorite slow cooked dish might be pulled pork – I also love the Lakeshore Pork out of the Avoca Cookbook (an Irish classic)
Interesting to study the relevance of the comments.
WHAT CAN I DO FOR SO MANY RECIPES….I DONT LIKE ANCHOVIES!!
Anne — Haha! In this case, I might substitute a handful of pitted black olives.
Roast beef with vegetables is my favorite.
Would love this. Don’t have any to go with my Dutch oven.
My favorite slow cooked food is brisket.
I shared on fb
Red-cooked pork belly
Lamb Shanks is what I love to cook in the my slow cooker.
my favorite slowcooked recipe is a sloppy joe recipe that’s pretty easy but really delicious and it’s the first thing I ever made.
I love the dutch oven that I have– a vintage caribbean colored one. One of our favorite slow-cooked meal is the short-ribs. It smells and taste really good.
I follow @MarcheDimanche and tweeted about this giveaway.
@grobiemum
I shared on facebook. https://www.facebook.com/bonnie.karoly/posts/10153151163300233
I am loving that flavour bomb, it sounds wonderful!
I have a Dutch oven which I adore. My favourite slow cooked recipe is Dutch oven roast chicken with lemon, garlic & herbs.
Short ribs!
Ratatouille or Beef Stew. Just splurged on my first Dutch Oven and would LOVE to have this book!
Shared on Facebook…
We bought a Le Creuset French oven many years ago and it is probably one of our best kitchen purchases; use it all the time; love slow cooking short ribs, brisket and cassoulet………
Beef Bourgeois is one of our favorites! Dan and I took the “Julia Child” class at Cordon Blue when we lived in Paris. I would love this cookbook. I have shared on FB.
It may not be French, but I love doing chili con carne.
French onion soup with oxtails, they add so much flavor!
One of my favorite stews is beef with daikon. Cut beef shank into one inch cubes. Marinate in soya sauce, rice wine, minced ginger and a little sugar. Sauté the beef with a little olive oil until brown. Add a can of chicken broth and cook over low flame for two hours until beef is very tender. Cut daikon into one inch tubes and place daikon with beef in pot. Add more chicken broth if necessary and cook for another half hour over low flame until daikon is cooked. Thicken gravy by adding corn starch to more chicken broth. Serve over steamed rice or boiled potatoes. Enjoy!
One favorite is pot roast. Another is Swedish meatballs. I have shared on Facebook.
I love a long simmering bolognese on a cozy fall day.
Cassoulet! I’m an Army wife in Europe that hoards cans of confit de canard, lugging them from one duty station to the next, much to my dinner guests’ delight :)
Roasted Chicken & Vegetables with Fresh Herbs and white wine! Tweeted and posted on FB
Lentil soup with sausage (and garnished with a healthy dose of balsamic vinegar!) (will follow and tweet)
A slow stew with beef chunks, potato, cream, artichokes, onions, and carrots.
Ann: excellent idea. Now can you suggest a substitute for capers…I adore steak tartare, but without capers!
Fascinating to see the numbers. I refer to our previous exchange!
My favorite slow cooked meal is beef stew. We eat it year round.
tweeted: https://twitter.com/tinawoo21/status/652273417412972544
Brisket
I love making chicken breasts with various vegetables in my French oven. The favors blend beautifully, and the chicken falls apart!
This book sounds fantastic and like just the right kitchen companion for fall and winter! My answer will be boring, but in the past year I’ve come to appreciate (to adore!) a slow-cooked pot of beans; nothing beats it.
My favorite slow cooked dish is Chicken Tagine with Oranges and Olives. I’ve heard wonderful things about this book!
Braised beef stew with red wine and winter vegetables and beans!
I always use my slow cooker for pulled pork. It;s the best!
Thanks for a lovely post!
I would love some bread pudding from Le French Oven.
I’ve followed Hillary on Twitter, tweeted about your give away and reposted on Facebook as well!
Wishing everyone a wonderful Autumn day!
My favorite dish using my French Oven is braised beef with carrots, potatoes, onions, and green chiles. We like it served over rice.
Retweeted; tweeted Hillary; following Hillary; commenting here; I’m too old for all of this!
Almost impossible to find a favorite recipe, but I can’t imagine making onion soup in any other pot.
I love cooking so many things in le creuset: pork stew, beef stew, chicken. Everything seems to taste better!
Being Greek, I love to collect cookbooks with diverse ethnic flavor!
Being an art teacher, cooking is definitely a form of creating!
:)
Falling off the bone tender spicy goat curry! Love my LC!
I loved making canard aux olives (I used a marmiton recipe) when I lived in Paris… And mopping up all of the yummy juiced with a crunchy baguette.
Love my Le Creuset and would certainly value this cookbook – both here and when in France! Thanks for the opportunity-