An authentic taste of Spain, cooking with Cazuela’s
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| Photo Courtesy of Orce Serrano Hams |
A cazuela (pronounced ka'swela) is a
terracotta or earthenware cooking dish. They come in many sizes and are a
staple in every Spanish kitchen. They are made in such a way that the terracotta dish is slowly
fired in a kiln, producing a cazuela that is close to a brick in density. Because of this classic process, cazuelas hold a slow, steady heat, allowing foods to cook gently and evenly. You then serve cazuelas straight to the table where your food continues to
simmer or sizzle for another 5 - 10 minutes.
With their rustic and classic design, the Spanish Cazuela
not only looks fantastic on the table but they are extremely versatile. You can cook a large range of dishes from stews, to
tapas dishes, and even a roast, then you simply serve the dish straight to the table. They can be
used on on gas/electric/ceramic stoves, in
the oven, or over an open fire or BBQ grill. You can use a cazuela in place of
a skillet, a paella pan (a paella becomes “rice cazuela”), a sauté pan, or an oven
casserole. You can sauté and brown foods in a cazuel by just adding enough oil to
cover the bottom surface and heat the oil until very hot. Don’t crowd the pan
with the foods to be browned.
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| Photo Courtesy of Orce Serrano Hams |
One of the great
things about Cazuelas is that come in a range of sizes from a mini
8cm cazuela, great for serving olives and nuts, up to 3 feet in diameter!
Whilst Artesano doesn’t offer the 3ft ones, yet!, we do have a range from
8cm up to 37cm. Just about every Spanish household has a
range of cazuelas in it’s kitchen, often passed down from mother to daughter.
Cazuelas are also your classic tapas dish used in tapas bars and restaurants
throughout Spain.
In Spain, cazuela is both the name of the
cooking vessel and of foods cooked in it. Most cazuela dishes start with a
sauté, or sofrito, and finish braising with liquid.
Recipes to try in your cazuela.......
Butterflied King Prawns in Garlic Butter
This Spanish tapas
recipe for butterflied king prawns make perfect starters. Cooked in their own
individual mini cazuelas these tapas can be served hot at any function or as
simple tapas. Spanish cazuelas retain heat very well so your prawns will remain
hot sizzling away in garlic butter, serve with crusty bread for mopping up the
garlic butter.
6 prawns per serve,
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| Photo by Ian MacDonald |
You will need
6 King prawns per
12cm cazuela
3 Garlic cloves, chopped
75g Butter
Parsley, chopped
Method
-Start by shelling
the prawns but leave the tails on.
-Run your thumb down
the length of the back and remove the black gritty string.
-Rinse the prawns
then, using a small sharp knife slice the prawns down their backs but not all
the way through.
-Open the prawns and
arrange in their cazuelas.
-In a bowl mix the
butter together with the chopped garlic and parsley then add a good spoonful to
each cazuela covering the prawns.
-Cook over the gas stove
or in a hot oven for 5 – 6 minutes until the prawns are done.
-Serve sizzling hot
with fresh crusty bread.
Chorizo Braised in Red Wine
The Spanish chorizo,
a highly versatile sausage that comes in many forms, chorizo extra, chorizo
duro, chorizo picante, "fire"
chorizo . . . The chorizo makes ideal tapas and can also add a real
Spanish twist to an abundance of recipes. Here we have something very tasty and
very simple - spicy chorizo braised in red wine. Delicious Spanish tapas full
of earthy flavour!
Makes 10 - 12 tapas
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| Photo by Ian MacDonald |
You will need:
6 Cured chorizo
sausages
1 Bottle of red wine (such as Rioja)
5 Garlic cloves (crushed)
Handful of oregano
Tablespoon of lemon zest
Black pepper
1 Bottle of red wine (such as Rioja)
5 Garlic cloves (crushed)
Handful of oregano
Tablespoon of lemon zest
Black pepper
Method
-Place all of the
ingredients in a large terracotta cazuela.
-Pour in the wine so
that the chorizo sausages are half to two thirds submerged.
-Bring to boil then
reduce the heat and simmer.
-Turn over the
chorizos and continue to cook for 12 - 15 minutes.
-Once cooked, cut the
chorizo into segments and place on cocktail sticks ready to serve.
Cazuela Pies
Beef and ale pie. Try
this Spanish twist on the traditional beef and ale pie, cooked individually in
terracotta cazuelas (earthenware dishes) these pies can be made as large or
small as you like. The Spanish cazuela has a knack of keeping food hot for a
very long time so these pies are best to cool for 10 minutes once removed from
the oven. You will also need a litre of premium San Miguel beer for this recipe
. . . a delicious winter warmer!
Makes 4 individual pies
in 14cm cazuelas
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| Photo by Ian MacDonald |
You will need:
1 kilo stewing beef,
cut into chunks
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
8-10 medium mushrooms, wiped and cut into quarters
Good handful frozen peas
1 litre San Miguel beer
2 tablespoons, plain flour
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
8-10 medium mushrooms, wiped and cut into quarters
Good handful frozen peas
1 litre San Miguel beer
2 tablespoons, plain flour
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
-Heat some olive oil
and butter in a large stewing pot and when nice and hot, add the beef. Cook off
until brown all over.
-Add the flour and
cook, stirring for a few minutes
-Add the vegetables
and continue to cook, stirring for about 5 minutes.
-Add the salt,
pepper, bay leaves and the beer.
-Bring to the boil
and then reduce to a very low heat and cook, covered for about 2 ½ hours.
-Add the peas and
adjust seasoning if necessary. Cook uncovered for another hour or so until the
beef is melt in the mouth tender.
-Transfer the stew to
individual cazuelas and top each one with shortcrust
pastry.
-To make the pastry
stick, dampen the edges of the cazuela with a little water and then flute the
edges of the pastry and trim off the excess.
-Make a slit in the
top of each pie and top with a little egg wash.
-Bake in a hot oven
for around 20 minutes until the pastry is cooked and golden.
Serve with chips –
lovely!
Cazuela omelette /Breakfast / Brunch / Dinner
Well it’s kind of an omelette anyway, you know when you just
have one of those days when there is not much in the fridge and you decide to
invent something using the contents of the fridge. Very rustic, easy to
make and filling, for the recipe below we use a 20cm cazuela, although you can
always make them in individual, say 14cm Cazuela for one serving. Note:
something like asparagus may need par boiling first
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| Photo by Ian MacDonald |
Ingredients (serves 3 to 4)
6 eggs
Mushrooms
Onion
Pancetta or Serrano ham or bacon
Green/red pepper
Tomato
Manchego cheese
Anything suitable from the back of the fridge
Ground black pepper
(substitute for Manchego is a sharp, hard Spanish sheeps
milk cheese. You could substitute parmesan, romano, or a very sharp,
white English cheddar.
Method
-Pre-heat oven to 180 deg
-Whisk the eggs in the cazuela
-Slice /chop ingredients apart from the
cheese
-Add ingredients to egg and mix well
-Grate a little manchego cheese over top
-Season with dried thyme or smoked paprika
-Bake in oven for 15min
Cazuela care and use
First Care
They should be soaked (completely immersed)
in water for 24 hours prior to use for the first time. Dry well, then coat the inside with olive oil and place in
a medium-low oven for 40 minutes. Frequent use is the best method for seasoning
cazuelas. If you live in a very dry climate you may want to resoak occasionally.
General Use
Once their moisture content is restored,
they can be used over direct flame (gas or electric range) on low to medium
(high heat not recommended), in the oven, or in the microwave. If using an
electric or ceramic cooktop, it is suggested that you always use a heat diffuser
when cooking in earthenware. Start them with the burner on low heat. When
the rim is warm to the touch, you can turn the heat up. Never heat an empty/dry cazuela. Take care not to set a hot
one down on a cold surface, as it might crack. Really big cazuelas are heavy
and not easy to manoeuvre in and out of the oven. Small cazuelitas are fine for
microwave cooking and reheating.
Washing
I wash mine by hand because I think they look to nice to go
into a dishwasher but cazuelas may be washed in the dishwasher if they are
placed so the rims do not bang against another dish as this may cause chipping.
The cazuelas are durable if given minimum care & not subjected to abrupt
temperature changes.
We use cazuelas for everything from roasting chicken, a range of seafood and meat dishes, rice dishes and cooking and serving tapas.
We use cazuelas for everything from roasting chicken, a range of seafood and meat dishes, rice dishes and cooking and serving tapas.
¡Salud!
Sarah
Genuine down to earth advice on cazuela care - look after it and it will look after you (or whatever your cooking in it!) Beauty and functionality of the cazuela has to be in the simplicity of the design and the material. Every home should have one!
ReplyDeleteVery fetching gear - I would like to order enough for 12 place settings. I was smitten by Barcelona and Madrid and this is a lovely way of continuing the love affair. Thank you for the recipes, I know what we are having on Saturday night.
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