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.
…are magnificent Turkish ceramics, purchased from Metin at the Orange Grove Markets. I’m a big fan of these intricately detailed pieces, and couldn’t resist these new offerings when I passed his stall last week…
Metin and his wife now have the store in Crows Nest full time, with a wide range of pieces on offer…
In my kitchen…
…is Pete’s favourite drink – Rochester Ginger. This sweet brew is non-alcoholic, but carries a serious ginger hit, so it needs to either be sipped slowly, or diluted with soda or water. Pete likes it neat, but I love it with hot water and honey. The promotional blurb on the bottle describes it as having the “kick of two very angry mules”…
In my kitchen…
…is an Ottolenghi-inspired vegetarian paella, created for dinner with our lovely friend Craig, who came over to give us a yoga lesson…
In my kitchen…
…is the strongest truffle oil I’ve ever tried! Unlike versions made with extra virgin olive oil, this one uses grapeseed oil, a neutral base that doesn’t overpower the truffle aroma…
In my kitchen…
…is a Scanpan bread knife with holder. My homemade ciabatta can be challenging to slice with a dodgy knife, so I thought I’d buy a sharp serrated blade that I could take on my travels…
In my kitchen…
…is a collection of Miellerie Honey from Tasmania. Gorgeous Roz from Taste Travel gifted me a jar of the Lake Pedder honey, and I’ve been hooked ever since…
This creamed honey is unheated, and has a texture which varies from a thick caramel (in the case of Lake Pedder) to firm toffee (Blue Gum). My current favourite is the Prickly Box, but all the varieties are delicious and distinctly different from one another. I bought mine online from Honey Tasmania…
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Tell me, what’s happening in your kitchen this month?
If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post on your own blog, please feel free to use this format, and to leave a comment here linking back to your post. We’d all love to see what’s happening in your kitchen every month too!
…are chocolate elephants! This latest batch of lollypops is made with a mix of Callebaut 811 (54% cacao), Sao Thome dark origin chocolate and a small handful of Callebaut 823 milk chocolate. Pete loves it, and I’ve had to hide them to ensure there are some left for Small Girl…
In my kitchen…
…is a box of amazing rock sugar, a gift from our lovely friend Moo…
It’s amazing stuff, and resembles small shards of polished glass. I’ve scattered some over the top of an apple pie, and plan to coat shortbread cookies with them as well…
In my kitchen…
…is a jar of lampascioni (Italian wild onions). I wrote about the paste a couple of years ago, but this is the first time I’ve seen the whole onions for sale…
They’re deliciously bitter, in a rocket kind of way…
In my kitchen…
…are five small tubs of homemade taramosalata, because Cindy and Nic mentioned it on their blogs, and I wasn’t able to get the thought out of my head until I made a batch. I found some fabulous roe at a Greek deli in Marrickville on my last shopping expedition with the Spice Girl.
Our recipe is here and it uses potato instead of bread, so it’s gluten-free…
In my kitchen…
…I’ve been baking knotted rolls! Using my latest bread formula, I shaped the proved dough into baguettes and let them rise a second time. Just before baking, I tied the long rolls into knots. It was easy and fun to do…
In my kitchen…
…are today’s eggs. Bless those chooks of ours, they’ve laid consistently all through winter…
In my kitchen…
…because I’m suggestible, is a copy of The Geometry of Pasta, which both C and Tandy recommended to me after my pasta shapes post. It’s an interesting read!
. . . . .
Tell me, what’s happening in your kitchen this month?
If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post on your own blog, please feel free to use this format, and to leave a comment here linking back to your post. We’d all love to see what’s happening in your kitchen every month too!
…are my first five tubs of homemade lip balm. They’re made with cocoa butter, olive oil, beeswax and tinted with a tiny bit of lipstick. The consistency isn’t quite right yet, so I’ll have to keep experimenting…
In my kitchen…
…are the nicest apples we’ve bought so far this season. This 16kg box of huge Pink Ladies was only $20 at the markets from Maurice and Jody’s stall…
…is a tin of plum mousse from Germany. I actually had no idea what was in the sealed tin, which I bought on a whim, thinking it might be plum lollies of some sort…
Luckily, Pete really liked the plum mousse, which is more like a paste than a jam. It should go well with cheese…
In my kitchen…
…is my first and last attempt at marron glacé. A failed attempt at that, as we ended up with sweet chewy chestnuts rather than glacé fruit (although they didn’t taste too bad)…
But every cloud has a silver lining, and as a result of these, I discovered how easy it is to wrap small confections in muffin pan liners! Far easier than cutting up squares of greaseproof paper…
In my kitchen…
…is Pete’s mum’s old cookbook, the Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Compendium (1959 ed). Uncle Steve gave it to me as a gift…
It’s full of step-by-step instructions…
In my kitchen…
…is an old chip maker, which my mum found buried in the back of her pantry. She’s never used it…
…and Pete’s not game to let me have a go either! I’m forever cutting myself on graters, can you imagine what I’d do with exposed blades like these?
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Tell me, what’s happening in your kitchen this month?
If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post on your own blog, please feel free to use this format, and to leave a comment here linking back to your post. We’d all love to see what’s happening in your kitchen every month too!
My love affair with Emile Henry Flame Cookware began several years ago when Pete bought me these two tagines as a gift…
We’ve added a few more pieces since then, particularly in the past year as our old bones and sore arms have necessitated a move away from cast iron.
The Flame range ticks every box for us. Here’s what we particularly love:
It can be used on a gas, electric or halogen hob, as well as in the oven and microwave. (Note: we’ve never had a problem with the pots on our gas burners, but my mum had one crack after a couple of years – she has an electric hotplate). Cooking in clay over direct heat is something I derive enormous pleasure from.
It washes up brilliantly in the dishwasher – an important consideration for us, as it was becoming logistically difficult to manoeuvre heavy cast iron pots and pans in the sink. The range isn’t non-stick, but any residual burnt bits have always cleaned away easily with minimal scrubbing.
The lead-free Burgundian clay gives the cookware a high thermal mass, resulting in even cooking and improved heat retention. My curries will often continue boiling for several minutes after the heat is turned off, and still be hot enough to eat more than half an hour later. Additionally, its extreme thermal shock resistance means the cookware can go from the freezer to the oven without cracking.
The stew pots are 30% lighter than comparable cast iron. And as our pots are stored on a high shelf above my head, I’m now at far less risk of a concussion.
Finally, the entire range is absolutely gorgeous! It transitions easily from the stove to the table, and is attractive enough for even the fanciest dinner party.
I have a round 24cm general purpose stew pot in fig…
…as well as a 31cm oval pot, also in fig, especially for curries and poaching large cuts of meat…
…and a 30cm black brasier, which I use for Indian keema and shallow-frying.
These pieces are very expensive, but we view them as an investment. They’re of superb quality, highly functional, and in use almost every day.
Additionally, all of them have been purchased at massively reduced prices – if you’re in Australia, check out the Peters of Kensington website, which offers a wide range of Emile Henry, discounted by as much as 75%. Remember that only the Flame range can be used on the stove-top.
Edit 06/14: When I first wrote this post, the Flame range was widely available in Australia, but it’s become much harder to find in recent times. Everten Online still sell some pieces, as do Peters of Kensington, but both have a greatly reduced range (mostly tagines).
One thing to note – the cookware needs to be seasoned before use. There are detailed instructions with the pots, but it’s an easy process – pour an inch or so of milk into the bottom of the pot or pan and simmer it for five minutes, then turn it off immediately and allow it to cool, before washing. Alternatively, simmer a litre of water with half a cup of rice for five minutes instead of the milk (I’ve actually found the rice works better, as I tend to scorch the milk).
This isn’t a paid or sponsored piece – if you read our blog regularly, you’ll know that I never do those. I’m simply quite infatuated with this 160 year old company and her products.
Here is a clip of Jacques Henry, the fifth family member to run Emile Henry, describing how the Flame Cookware is made. I was impressed to see them using the clay roaster on a barbeque!
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Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 