Pots

Boring and really important.

One of the critical decisions to make when setting up your little kitchen is which pots to include. Over many years, we find this set serves us really well. Surprisingly, I have never 'wished' for another style pot, these have done the trick for the two of us.

I'll divide the pots into two sections, everyday and specialist (occasional use).

One of the considerations is the small stove top. Large pans or standard woks for example, are too big to position so the heat is under the centre. And, you will need to be able to put dishes beside each other, so anything too big will limit the number of pots in use at anyone time.

So what do we use?:

Three everyday pots

1. 24cm wide, deep heavy base fry pan (with lid). We use this for frying (obviously) but also for risottos, pasta sauces etc. 

2. 20cm saucepan, also with a heavy enough base to be able to fry off onions etc if needed. (with lid)

3. 22cm cast iron enamel pot for soups, slow cooking etc. Can be used on the stove top and in the oven.

Four specialist 'pots'

4. A 23cm square lasagna dish, big enough to make a lasagna for 4 if needed, but also used for baking veggies etc. The square shape was important to be able to get the size big enough but still fitting into the relatively small oven we have in the van.

5. Paella dish. 28cm, the perfect size for 3 people, which means good size for 2 with some leftovers. With the simmer pad (see this post), we love pulling this out when we feel like something a bit special.

6. Pizza tray (and we also carry a pizza stone)

7. Small enamel saucepan with pouring lip - we find this really useful for hot drinks mainly (like hot chocolates) but can be a back up saucepan if needed.