Please don’t judge me.
I know I’m a weak woman.
I know I don’t need anymore Emile Henry.
Sigh…
All my resolve and self-control disappeared when I saw this new risotto pot. It’s just so gorgeously curvaceous. Its shape is reminiscent of the old Chinese clay pots that my mother used to cook in when I was a child. Only it’s much, much bigger.
As you know, I’m a big fan of the Emile Henry Flame Top cookware, and I’ve waxed lyrical about their brilliance in an earlier post. For some reason, we seem to be able to buy EH products in Australia for less than they cost anywhere else in the world.
Like all the Flame products, the risotto pot can be used on a gas, electric or halogen hob (not induction), or in a conventional or microwave oven. It goes straight into the dishwasher for cleaning, and weighs 30% less than comparable cast iron.
The new shape has an unusual sunken lid, which I was a bit dubious about at first. I’ve found it works well though, and the pot is less likely to boil over than a regular dutch oven, as there’s a little ledge to catch any overflow…
The interior is a completely smooth curve, which facilitates easier stirring…
In the few weeks that we’ve had this pot, we’ve used it for risotto, corn chowder, chermoula chicken stew, and a vegetarian sweet potato curry.
It’s proving to be a great all-purpose cooking vessel!
PS. For my fellow Aussies, the cheapest place I’ve found to buy this pot was online from Le Domaine. No affiliation, yada yada.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I am feeling a bit weak in the knees here…. yours is the 4qt or the 2.5qt?
The cheapest I found on a quick look around the net was $100 for a 2.5qt in the gorgeous olive color. My Birthday is not until March. How unfortunate!
Sally, I’ve got the big one! And the olive green is a gorgeous colour – I was tempted, but ended up buying red to match the pieces I already had! Your birthday isn’t until March, but surely there’s Christmas before then? :)
Our gift in December is a trip together…. so no other excesses are allowed!
(sigh)
Oh now that is rather lovely. I sold cookware in a store that I co-owned for about a decade and loved the Emile Henry range, so I can understand your enjoyment of it. Great blog BTW. I have linked to you from mine.
Lizzy, thanks for the linky! I think if I owned a cookware store I would never take any money home, and my house would be full to the gills! :)
More Flameware – I’m so envious! Your new pot is a gorgeous colour too!
Thanks Suelle, hope you get your hands on some soon! x
I’m not judging- envying -YES!
Good for you- with all the cooking you do- you NEED good cookware.
I inherited all of my pots and pans and such. I’ve never had the opportunity to buy any for myself- my mother invested in a set of Lifetime pots that have a warranty that goes on forever, it seems, and they are very well built. I’d like to replace some of them, but it seems like an unnecessary expense.
But I’d love to have a beautiful red pot to make risotto in, and chowder, and
to stew meat in… yes.. this is definitely envy I’m experiencing. :)
I didn’t mean to make you envious, Heidi! :) I hope someone reads this and buys something special for Christmas. (Jordan, Luke, are you listening? ;-))
That would be a “regular” in my house if I possessed it.
What a super purchase Celia. Very stylish.
Thanks you, my very stylish friend! :)
You can never have too many pots, that one looks partcularly fine and I do understand. i lifted one thoughtfully the other day in John Lewis and said to my faithful retail therapy compagnero, “celia has these you know!” “Does she?” He replied, “yes” I said, allowing a little hint of longing to flitter past my lips…. And then we returned to the quest for new pillows… Do you think he got the hint?
Any time you want to talk, I’ll be listening xx
Shall I start sending him secret squirrel links to places where he can buy them for you for Christmas? ;-) xx
I adore Emile Henry items. I saw a Emile tajine on Cooking in Sens and have rather fallen in love. I want this now too. Why must I be poor? One day I shall have it all!
FF, you’re not poor, you’re young. It’s not the same thing at all. But the best piece of kitchen advice I ever received when I was young was this – don’t buy cheap cookware, it’s a waste of time, space and money. Save up and buy really good kit, and you’ll never regret it. 25 years ago we bought some French stainless steel saucepans, and they’re still used daily in our kitchen!
It’s a beautiful pot Celia, I’m not surprised you treated yourself – and it sounds like it’ll be extremely good value for money by the time you’ve used it so much – beautiful and useful!
I keep wondering about buying similar items but cannot justify it for one – the larger items seem to be better value for money (generally in these types of ranges) and I would need a family to feed :-)
C, there is a smaller risotto pot that would probably cook a good sized meal for one or two. With our pack of wolves, I need the bigger one! :)
I love the colour and anything that goes from hob to oven has the thumbs up from me! c
C, if you’re ever in the market for more cookware, you might really enjoy this range. Cooking in clay is so comforting, especially when it’s on the hob. It opens up a whole world of cuisines – Spanish, Middle Eastern, Asian – all have traditions of cooking over open flames in clay!
A great purchase Celia, All the more reason to cook one of your delicious risotto’s.An elegant addition to your kitchen!
Yvette, thank you – the colour is very pretty! They have an fig coloured one which is also really gorgeous!
You work better with the right tools Celia :-) This is a lovely pot indeed! I do love the rounded bottom, how much easier for stirring you can get right into the corners- fantastic!
Becca, the rounded bottom makes it a bit like a squat wok in function, and I’ve noticed things burn less without corners for the food to catch on!
How gorgeous…both you and the pot! Thanks for the purchasing tip, I’ve just added this to my Birthday wish list x
Darling, the olive green one has your name written all over it… xx
Celia – you must stop these posts! Because of you I currently have a simply gorgeous flame red wok sitting in it’s box while I work out just exactly where I’m to store it in the already crowded pantry.
Now I’ll have to resist this. Sigh.
A, my sister-in-law Kate stores her wok in the oven! :)
Glad to see that I am not the only one “infected” by Celia’s passion for EH pots, chocolate, bread…..and indeed most this she posts on this blog!! :)
Just don’t ever let anyone count how many pots you have Celia, and then all will be ok. And if they ask, pretend they are asking how many of the RED ones you have, or the PURPLE ones, or the…. and just give a total for that colour only!
Have you bought one yet? You know I wrote this post just for you, don’t you? :)
Nice looking pot. Not judging you, never would, but I’m thinking about your cookware buying habits. Do you follow the rule “the amount of cookware you should own is n+1, where n is your current level of ownership”, or, “the amount of cookware you should own is s-1, where s is the amount of cookware owned that would result in a relationship breakdown”!?!
The latter. s-1, where s = total amount of available storage. :)
Oh no Celia don’t tell me that. Last time you raved about one of these I bought it within minutes. Must. Not. Buy. Another. Pot.
I could add it to the wedding registry though…
I would love to get married again, just to put together another wedding registry of all the stuff I now know about!! :)
Your obsession is totally understandable! Risotto has to be one of the most satisfying dishes ever created :)
Sally, it’s like the perfect meal when you stare in the fridge and wonder what to cook. And it’s on the table in 20 minutes!
“I know I don’t need anymore Emile Henry.” …. until now!
Marvelous! I want one too. I love to be able to go from burner to oven. <3
Maz.
Maz, the colours in this range are so rich they’d make you sigh with joy.. :)
The red does it for me. :-)
your weakness is for something so beautiful :)
Tandy, thank you! It’s hard to be strong with this cookware range!
I’ve always thought there’s something special about beautifully coloured cookware and colourful food – the combination just seems to make everything taste so much better. I hope you have many years of happy and successful cooking with your new ‘jewel in the crown’. :D
Misk, thank you! We used it last night to make a mixed mushroom risotto, which cooked to perfection. I was so happy to be able to bring this pretty red pot to the table, feed my family, and then pop it into the dishwasher when we were done! :)
I get pot lust (that doesn’t sound right) all the time. This pot is truly gorgeous!
Sue, pot lust really is the right term! Sometimes I just take the pots out to admire them! :)
You can resist everything except temptation, huh?
It’s my only weakness, Cosmo.. :)
After a week of working on this thing..i THINK i’m back online…Young Dumb and full of American… Well, Okay, scratch the young part.
Nice to have you back online, Paul! :)
Oh, I don’t blame you for giving in to temptation, it is beautiful :)
Thanks Cindy! If only they weren’t all so darned beautiful, I’d have better luck resisting them! :)
i love these things but I have an induction cook top, so I don’t think I can use them.
Deb, EH do make an induction disk so you can use their products on an induction cooker, but I”m not sure how well it works…