Ask the A2K cooks!

Thanks for the link, Butrflynet.
That thread was from 2006.
I was wondering, in my post, if people were still using them.
And wondering, if they are, what new recipes they might be cooking in them now.
Haven't seen much reference to clay pot cooking here recently at all.

I think people use them for no knead breads, instead of the clunky cast iron dutch ovens, but butryfly probably knows more about the way to make breads in them.

I remember those threads and have been tempted to buy a clay pot, but I've never run across one in the stores.

Ms Olga, check out your post in this thread about clay pot cookery. There are several other ideas further in the thread.

http://able2know.org/topic/72647-94#post-2678543

Yes?
Interesting, osso.
Not being a home bread maker that's very interesting to know.

most of them look like variants of the no-knead bread recipes or the classic baked in a flower pot breads

the instructions just have to do with preparing the pot for the oven

http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/rfcj/BREAD/Baking_Bread_in_a_Clay_Cooker_-_pareve.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/433424-how-to-bake-bread-in-romertopf-clay-pots/

I already know, without checking, what I was cooking in my clay pot in 2007, Butrflynet.

But you're right, I might pick up some ideas, about things I've haven't attempted before, from that 2007 thread.

But in my post here, today, I asked if people were still using their clay cookers now.

I bought both of my recent ones (having previously discarded my old one some time before! ) at opportunity shops. You call them "thrift shops" I think.
People have been discarding them, it seems.

So, has anyone tried any new recipes in their clay pot recently?

Just found this & may try it out very soon.
Looks easy to prepare, tasty & quite different to my previous clay pot efforts ...
My only concern is whether the smell/taste of the spices & garlic will "linger" in the walls of the clay pot or not after washing.


Indonesian Beggar's Chicken:

Ingredients

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped

1 anchovy fillet, drained and chopped

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 4-5 lb. whole chicken

Method:

* In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients, except chicken, and blend to a paste.


* Rinse Chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Place on a plate and spread one third of the paste on the inside of the chicken. Spread remaining paste on outside of chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.


* Soak 3-quart clay cooker (top and bottom) in water for 15 minutes.


* Place chicken in soaked clay cooker and cover with lid. Place in a COLD oven. Set temperature to 450F and cook for 1 hour and 25 minutes, or until the drumsticks "wiggle" easily.

*Remove chicken from cooker and let rest on platter for 10 minutes before carving.

* Meanwhile, pour the pan juices from the cooker into a small bowl and let sit until ready to serve. Just before serving, skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. Carve chicken and serve with the pan juices.
Good on steamed rice.

-

Made this one last night when I had a friend over for a dinner.
Super easy & quite nice ...
The good thing about this one (whether it's "authentic" or not ... how would I know?) is that there was no added oil/fat.
Perfect type of food for when I'm trying to trim my post-Christmas waistline
a bit .....
Must find a few more recipes like this.

Clay Pot Cooked Shrimp & Ham Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain rice
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
5 chopped canned plumb
1/2 teaspoon salt
Tomatoes, plus enough of their juice to make 1 cup
1/2 cup dry sherry
12 to 14 medium shrimp
1 cup chopped onions
6 oz cubed, baked Black Forest ham
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 bay leaf for garnish

Method:

In a soaked 3-quart clay pot, combine rice, tomatoes, onions, green pepper, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, salt and sherry.

Add 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup reserved tomato juice and stir to blend. Cover the pot and place into cold oven. Set oven temperature to 450 and bake 40 minutes (rice will be al dente).

Meanwhile peel the shrimp, leaving tail and shell up to first joint. Stir ham and shrimp into the rice mixture.
Cover pot and bake additional 8 to 10 minutes, just until shrimp are pink and firm. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately. Serves 4. For added zip serve with hot sauce

Sounds good and easy enough, msolga.

I failed to make shrimp risotto the evening before last, lazy bum that I am, and instead made what turned out to be a tasty soup yesterday -

Leftover Delight Tomato Shrimp Soup

- saute'd diced garlic (3 fat cloves) in olive oil (some),
and put those into a mix of
- 28 oz can of stewed tomatoes (label says has dried onion, celery, green bell pepper) that had been blended to puree
plus about three cups of chicken broth
- added a couple of cups of water to that, and started cooking the concoction down at mid-simmer
- added some quite hot chile flakes when the consistency and taste seemed right, plus some grinding of black pepper

next, microwave thawed some french cut green beans which I cut up a little further (1 cup approx) and some previously cooked and frozen brown rice (1.5 cups approx), and some torn up homemade french roll (say, half cup)

last, the shrimp I had peeled and saute'd the day before but not used in the non-risotto. Cut those up a bit too, so there were more bits of shrimp. Shut off the flame immediately.

Voila! Going to do that one again, ate two bowls full.

Edit - I forgot, I'd snipped off the tip of a capsule of fish oil and added the oil (not capsule) to the soup around the time I added the chile. I'd asked my pharmacist if that changed the oil and she said no. I happen to hate taking large capsule pills but like to have fish oil in my diet.

I used it for my most recent Thanksgiving turkey, and mentioned it. If I can get a turkey that fits, it works the best by far (not just moist and yummy but quick too).



http://able2know.org/topic/180673-2#post-4804390

OOPS!

Read correction (in red) in the recipe I posted.

(That's what happens when you post a recipe from an online site without thoroughly checking the wording.)

Anyone who has already cooked this dish via my initial instructions, using "plumbs", my humble apologies!




-

(a quick aside which might save some of you some time when sharing recipes from cookbooks in the future.
Both the recipes I posted above are from a little cookbook I have, called: The Best of Clay Pot Cooking.
I've recently discovered that quite a few recipes from existing cookbooks have already been posted by someone else, on another internet cooking site.
So next time you want to share, try Googling the title of the recipe & see if it's already online. Saves you quite a bit of typing! (check the content of the recipe, too, so you don't end up with "plumbs" in the jambalaya! )

Hey, that sounds good, osso!
(never made a soup in my Romertopf before. I might experiment!
I like the idea of a clay pot risotto, too.)

Smiles - I copied your recipe, and fixed the text - I keep a2k recipes I like in an a2k recipe works file.
I also recommend citing the source whenever possible, which you just did, msolga, and a lot of food bloggers try to do. A lot of recipes even in cookbooks are built on others' recipes ad infinitum. Aside from copying not being really fair, I like the little traces of food history.

No, it wasn't in a romertopf, just a le crueset - I was riffing on your recipe sans the container.
Alas I don't have one and would like one.

Yes, I agree, osso.
Same as acknowledging the source of a posted photograph.
I'll try & do that with all the recipes I post from now on.
Only fair, yes?

Try the thrift shops, osso.
Sooner or later one will turn up, I'll betcha.
That's where I got mine.
I think many people now consider them "old fashioned" (or something) & are getting rid of them...