![]() (Apparently, it can also refer to a lousy singer, as in Quelle casserole! - what a lousy singer!) “Casserole” is also related to the French word cassoulet, which refers to a traditional dish consisting of meat and white beans that is cooked and served in a cassole - a wide-mouthed ceramic baking dish. So I hope they eat as many casseroles as they argue over.įor our purposes, let’s just go with the assumption that “casserole” is French for “saucepan.” And the name of the pan transferred to the name of the food cooked in it. I will spare you the painstakingly researched and defended opinions of the linguistic experts who have weighed in on the topic, except to say that they appear to be burning a lot of calories asserting and embellishing their claims. The origin of the word “casserole” is one of the most contentious issues in the field of gastronomic etymology. Clearly, there’s something very primal and satisfying about tossing a bunch of ingredients into a deep-sided pan and letting the magic happen slowly in a hot oven. That simple definition means that lots of our most popular heritage dishes are casseroles (and comfort food): lasagna, potato and noodle kugel, stuffed peppers, mac n’ cheese, zucchini gratin, and on and on. But here’s what I’ve come up with: casseroles are one-dish, oven-baked meals. What Is a Casserole?Ĭasseroles are so common, I never stopped to think about an actual definition until I started working on this article. Luckily, there are many ways to make vegan casseroles and fortify them with healthy, plant-rich, and nutrient-dense foods. Of course, we might not want to make casserole recipes with ground meat, covered in cheese, or topped with crushed potato chips or Ritz crackers. And even though casseroles have been looked down upon by chefs and foodies for the past 70 years, they’ve never gone out of fashion because they are so economical and satisfying. It can be easy to make, very forgiving of variance in recipe and ingredients, a great use of leftovers, inexpensive, and very hearty and filling. The modern casserole dish fills many of the same needs. ![]() So what do you do?įor many peasants, the answer was simple: take the cheapest food they could find (usually dried beans of some kind, root vegetables, or old bread), flavor it with herbs and whatever meat they could scrounge up, toss in a hunk of cheese if they had it, and throw it all into a clay or earthenware pan known as a “casserole.” Then, they would bring it to the town baker, who would pop it in the oven until it was cooked to taste. You don’t have a microwave or a pizza takeout magnet on your fridge. And there are no drive-thrus to stop by on your way home. You toil from dawn to dusk, and when you come home at the end of the day, you have no energy to prepare a hearty, filling meal. ![]() ![]() Imagine you’re a peasant in medieval Europe. ![]()
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