Stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed Tomatoes with Beans and Rice

Source: Smart clay pot cookery – Carol Heding Munson

Time: preparation: about 15 minutes, to cook: in conventional oven, 55 minutes.

Ingredients

• 4 large tomatoes
• ½ cup cooked long-grain rice
• 1 small onion, chopped
• ½ green pepper, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½ cup fat-free refried beans
• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup salsa with cheese

Recipe

Soak a medium-size clay pot and lid in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice the top off the tomatoes. Scoop out the pulp and place it in a sieve. Using the back of a wooden spoon, press out the juice, discarding it, and chop the tomato pulp.

Place 1 cup of pulp in a medium-size bowl. Stir in the rice, onions, peppers, refried beans, parsley, cumin seeds, chilli powder, and pepper flakes.Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture. Drain the clay pot and lid. Place the tomatoes in the pot.

Cover the pot, and place in a cold oven. Set oven to 190ºC (375ºF), and cook for 45 minutes. Top each tomato with 1 tablespoon salsa. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Comments

You probably noticed that this is a vegetarian dish. Not a main meal, but nice anyway!

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Spicy Beef

Source: Spicy Beef Casserole – Waitrose, January [2003], Recipes

Time: preparation: about 15 minutes, to cook: in conventional oven, 2 hours.

Ingredients

• 700 – 800g diced beef
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 mild green chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 300 ml beef stock, fresh or made from cubes
• 1 tsp mild chili powder
• 2 x 400g cans Chopped Italian Tomatoes
• 410g can Red Kidney Beans
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander or parsley
• Lo Salt and freshly ground pepper

Recipe

Soak the clay pot and lid in water for about 15 minutes, Meanwhile, prepare the beef stock and stir in the ingredients mentioned above, except the kidney beans, the salt and the pepper.

Drain the clay pot and lid. Put the diced beef in the pot. Add the mixture, and stir. Add salt and pepper.

Cover the pot, and place in a cold oven. Set oven to 218ºC (425ºF), and cook for about 1 hour and 50 minutes, then add the kidney beans and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve with a bowl of long grain rice.

Comments

This is the first recipe I tried that was not originally meant for the clay pot, but for the casserole pan. It succeeded quite well, except it was judged to be a bit too spicy, but that was probably because I used actually 3 chilli peppers… So, don’t overdo it!

Mediterranean Roast

Mediterranean Roast with Aubergine-Tarragon Sauce

Source: Smart Clay Pot Cookery, by Carol Heding Munson

Time: preparation: about 15 minutes, to cook: in conventional oven, 2½ to 3 hours.

Ingredients

• 1 pound aubergine, peeled and cut into cubes
• 350 ml water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 can (800 grams) crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon tarragon leaves
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 kilo bottom round roast, trimmed of fat

Recipe

Bring the water to the boil, add the aubergine and leave it for two to three minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the onions, tomatoes, wine, tarragon and pepper.

Drain the pot and lid. Place the roast in the pot. Add the aubergine mixture.

Cover the pot, and place in a cold oven. Set oven to 218ºC (425ºF), and cook until the roast is tender, 2½ to 3 hours. Slice, and serve topped with the aubergine mixture.

Comments

You see in the picture in the ingredients section two pieces of roast, each is about 700 grams, I intended to use both of them but decided to use only one in fact. I cut the aubergine in small cubes, next time I will cut it into larger slices (as per Sveta’s request!), and also add some roasting potatoes. What you see in the picture as end-result was served on New Year’s Eve 2002, and very well received.

 

Balsamic-seasoned Turkey

Source: Smart Clay Pot Cookery, by Carol Heding Munson

Time: preparation: about 30 minutes, to cook: in conventional oven, 1 hour and 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 500 ml chicken stock
• 1 glass dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 kilo turkey breast, or 2 turkey legs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• half a teaspoon fennel seeds
• some freshly ground black pepper
• 4 sweet potatoes
• 2 leeks, white part only, sliced

Recipe

Soak a medium-size clay pot and lid in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the pot and lid. Combine the broth, wine and vinegar in the pot. Add the thyme and turkey. Rub exposed turkey with the oil; sprinkle with pepper and fennel. Arrange the potatoes and leeks around the turkey.

Cover the pot and place in a cold oven. Set oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celcius), and cook until the turkey is done and juices run clear.

Comments

I had to adapt the original recipe slightly as some ingredients were not available. I actually added some lemon grass to it, which is normally used in Thai cuisine. I think that gave it an exotic touch!

 

Savoury chicken

Source: happy.cookers.com

Time: preparation: about 15 minutes, to cook: in conventional oven, 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup good quality maple syrup
• 1/4 cup good quality mustard, such as Dijon or Honey Mustard
• 2 teaspoons good quality curry powder
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 green onions or chives
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 2-3 pound chicken, cut up in pieces, or 6 chicken breast fillets, or 2 game hens

Recipe

Soak the lid of the clay pot in water for 15 minutes while you prepare the rest in the bottom of the pot.

Combine the maple syrup, mustard, garlic, and salt in a measuring cup and whisk well. Wash the chicken well, and place in bottom of the pot. Pour the sauce over. Snip on the green onions or chives, and sprinkle with paprika. Drain the lid, and place on the pot. Place in a cold oven, turn temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, 220 degrees Celcius, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Garnish and serve, with the strained drippings drizzled over the chicken.

Comments

When I propose to cook dinner in the clay pot, I am always asked to do this one, so popular has it become! It is easy and quick, and the results are always good, except one time (out of 7) that I probably did not prepare enough sauce, the chicken fillets were rather dry.

Serve with rice or couscous, and a salad.

Kleftiko

Arni kleftiko

Source: de Griekse keuken red. Ria van Eijndhoven/St Giorgios Kleftiko Parcels

Time: preparation: about 15 minutes, to cook: in conventional oven, 1 hour 45 minutes.

Ingredients

 

• 1 kilo lamb chops and/or lamb ribs and/or boneless leg of lamb
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• salt
• black peper
• 100 g feta cheese, cut in cubes
• 2 small beef tomatoes, chopped
• 3 small bay leaves
• 7 baby potatoes

Recipe

Place the lamb in a large bowl and pour over the olive oil, then add the lemon juice, oregano, thyme, garlic, onion and salt and pepper. Mix together well and leave to marinate at room temperature for 2 hours or in the fridge over night.

Soak a medium-size clay pot and lid in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Put the marinated lamb into the clay pot. Distribute the chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, potatoes and bay leaves over the lamb. Close the pot with the lid and put it into a cold oven, set it at 175 C for about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Comments

Serve with a greek salad and of course drink a greek wine with it, preferably retsina.