Gratin & Quiche Dishes

A lasagna that comes out of the oven after forty minutes — the top layer of Parmesan is browning, the béchamel is bubbling inside. The dish is placed on a wooden board in the middle of the table, cut, and the family doesn't wait for it to be passed around once. They eat directly from the dish while it's hot.

That is the special role of the casserole dish: it is the pot in which not only cooking is done, but also serving. From the oven to the table, without transferring, without loss of intent. And if it's the right dish, it looks good too.

Le Creuset — Stoneware and Cast Iron

Le Creuset casserole dishes are available in two materials: stoneware (more robust, less expensive, colorfully glazed) and cast iron (heavier, retains heat longer, stores warmth at the table). Both are oven-safe up to 260 °C, are freezer-safe, and come in the colors that already characterize the cocottes — Cerise, Meringue, Ocean, Olive.

The Shapes

• Rectangular Casserole Dish — 25–40 cm, the classic for lasagna, gratin, pasta bakes.
• Oval Casserole Dish — for whole fish, poultry, roasts.
• Quiche Dish with Smooth Edges — traditionally 27 cm, for Quiche Lorraine and sweet tarts.
• Round Casserole Dishes — small and individual for soufflés, crème brûlée, cheese-baked onion soup.

An advantage that only experience reveals: Stoneware retains heat so well that a casserole on the table doesn't drop to room temperature in ten minutes. If you place a Le Creuset stoneware dish at 220 °C on a trivet, you'll still have a hot portion for a second plate twenty minutes later. That's the silent host advantage over an aluminum dish.

See also: Roasters & Dutch Ovens, Serveware.