Clay pot cooking

I've been fascinated by clay pot cooking since I got my first Roemertopf in Germany many years ago. I still have a Roemertopf (my second), though I haven't used it much in recent years. A year ago or so, La Tienda lured me into buying a 12-inch Spanish cazuela, a round, relatively shallow earthenware casserole. A few months ago, I got a Pirmal beanpot at La Cuisine in Alexandria.

So I was happy to see Paula Wolfert's new book, "Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking." I think she is a great cookbook writer; several of her books are already on my shelf. Happily, she said most recipes in the new book could be done in four types of clay pots -- a Roemertopf (!), a cazuela (!), a beanpot (!), and a tagine -- the only one I don't have (yet).

She also has some recipes that call for being baked in a clay environment and suggests lining your stove with fire bricks to achieve this. It occurs to me, though, that my Big Green Egg provides a ceramic environment, so I will experiment with using it for those recipes.

The trick of cooking with clay pots is to avoid sudden shifts in temperature. They must warm up gradually and should not be set while hot onto a cold surface, even just granite at room temperature. Recipes with baking always call for a start in a cold oven, so the pot heats up as the oven does. A Roemertopf must be soaked in water before each use. The cazuela and beanpot both required "curing" before use by soaking in water.

I used Wolfert's new cookbook for the first time over the weekend, cooking a "tiella" of pork, wild mushrooms and potatoes. A tiella is an Italian version of a cazuela, which Wolfert says is quite serviceable for this recipe, which comes from Calabria in southern Italy.

I increased the amount of pork in the recipe because 1 lb. seemed too skimpy for four people, but I left other quantities as written. You start by sauteeing 3 crushed garlic cloves and 3 oz. of thinly sliced, shredded pancetta in 2 Tbl. of olive oil for a few minutes. Then you add the boneless pork shoulder cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes (I used just shy of 2 lbs.) and brown them on all sides. Then you add 1 lb. of red potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced; 1 lb. of brown mushrooms, quartered; 3/4 oz. of dried porcini, soaked and coarsely chopped; the strained soaking liquid from the porcini; 1 tsp. salt; 1/2 tsp. pepper; 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper, and a sprig of rosemary. You cover (my cazuela doesn't have a cover, so I borrowed the cover from a 12-in. braising pan) and simmer 45 min. It can be done ahead of time to this point.

Before putting into the oven to finish, you scrape off any congealed fat from the top, and pick out the potato slices and put them to one side. You mush the meat and mushrooms into a single layer and then arrange a layer of potatoes on top. You "press gently" to compact the casserole, then top the potatoes with 4 oz. of shredded cheese. First choice is a Calabrian cheese called caciocavallo, which Vace didn't have, so I used the second choice, aged provolone. You drizzle 1 Tbl. of olive oil over this, set in a cold oven, and turn it on, set at 400 F. After half an hour, you turn off the oven and let the casserole continue to cook in the receding heat for 45 minutes. Sprinkle 1 Tbl. chopped parsley on top and serve. I served it with a simple green salad and ciabatta.

I was very happy with the result. It was, obviously, very rich. It's hard to say just what the earthenware pot contributes, but Wolfert says these recipes are better cooked in earthenware than in conventional pots, and I'm willing to take her word for it.