What does the term ‘casserole’ mean to you? (this is a poll, not a debate)
If it describes something specific, be as detailed as possible.
If it describes a whole category of stuff, try to define the boundaries (and mention what things that lie beyond those boundaries are called)
If it describes multiple categories of things, explain whether they are related only by the term ‘casserole’, or are related in some other, non-semantic, actual way…
To me, casserole means specifically, a rich, thick stew-like dish, usually containing diced meat, onions, chunky vegetables and possibly whole pulses in a thick, usually dark-coloured gravy. Casserole is almost always cooked slow and long - the meat should fall apart under the fork.
It is distinct from: Stew, which is more like a chunky soup, and not usually slow-cooked. Hotpot, although hotpot is really just a specific recipe of casserole, not stirred during cooking and cooked with a topping of potatoes.
(Other food terms to be explored in due course, in separate threads, if this one is a success)
Casseroles as I know them usually include noodles or pasta of some kind. I’d say a dish with noodles, meat and/or cheese, minimal sauce, baked in an oven, covers the topic pretty well.
A casserole is a dish cooked in the oven (although I grant there are “stovetop casseroles,” which mimic classic oven baked casseroles) with protein, pieces of a starch (usually noodles or rice) and a binder of some sort (often egg, cream and/or mayonnaise) in a homogenous mixture, which is served as an entree or side dish. Vegetables may or may not be present.
Baked macaroni and cheese, tuna noodle casserole and chicken rice casserole are all casseroles, while lasagne (not homogeneous), stew (no binder, cooked on stovetop), souffle (no starch) and quiche (not homogenous, no starch in the filling) are not.
Sounds like what I’d call “stew” (which to me is practically by definition “slow-cooked”).
I agree with WhyNot’s definition, with the cooking and serving in a covered casserole dish being the key (and to the list of commonly used “binders” I’d add “nasty canned mushroom soup”).
I can actually think of one, but only one, so I’m going to count it a poorly named anomaly: Green Bean Casserole. No starch, no protein, just green beans, mushrooms and glop.
Beef casserole, lamb casserole, all other meat casseroles with the variety depending on the herbs and veggies involved, lentil casserole, veggie casserole, etc etc.
Rice is also not involved. It’s potatoes, possibly wheat (usually in the form of dumplings), possibly bulgar wheat or something else, but not usually pasta, noodles or rice. I have heard of tuna casserole, but I’ve more often heard it called a tuna bake and I’d consider a tuna casserole with pasta to be more exceptional than a normal casserole.
And stew is usually done on the stove top, IME; most people don’t have slowcookers. I was actually going to say that a casserole could also be cooked in a slow-cooker, but stew works for that too.
I also have a recipe from my grandmother for a broccoli-cauliflower casserole that’s basically veggies and cheese. The only starch is a layer of breadcrumbs on the top.
I would say that a casserole is a more-or-less homogenous mix of ingredients baked in a shallow pan, and firm and dry enough to be piled on a plate. Beyond that, I wouldn’t stipulate much of anything about it.
There’s all sorts of layered vegetable casseroles (layered potato casserole, layered cabbage casserole, etc.) that I consider casseroles. Casserole is a very inexact term for me. It certainly doesn’t require pasta or even starches, although you’ll probably find one. I would definitely call lasagna a type of layered casserole. It’s pretty much anything cooked in a casserole dish in the oven. I tend to think of it as a “one-pot meal,” but it doesn’t necessarily have to be (as in the case of green bean casserole). And it doesn’t have to be a homogenous mixture at all (see, again, layered casseroles.)
I do something similar when I don’t feel like making gołąbki (aka golumpki, cabbage rolls, pigs-in-a-blanket [in some areas], etc.) I make a gołąbki casserole by layering cabbage leaves with a cooked pork and/or beef and rice mixture, along with some broth and tomato sauce. Kinda like Polish lasagna. Or, if you prefer your casseroles homogenous, you can chop up the cabbage finely and incorporate it with the other ingredients.
Plus, if you’ve had moussaka, that’s a type of layered casserole, too. Just happens to have a nice Greek name that people use instead.
Casserole to me is anything made of multiple ingredients oven-baked in a deep and flat dish, which is either scooped like extremely thick stew or cut into squares to serve. I’d therefore count lasagna as a casserole, and the casseroles I am most used to making involve all the ingredients of a typical sunday dinner positioned and cooked in a similar manner to lasagna.
I agree with these descriptions. I absolutely categorize lasagne as a casserole. My mom also has a tuna casserole recipe she makes with no pasta, just layers of potato chips with tuna, peas and cream of mushroom/celery soup. Casseroles are cooked in shallow square/rectangular dishes (always Corning around here) and may or may not include layering with a starch of some kind. They can usually be cut or scooped with minimal puddling in the dish.
