A Römertopf: Cooking with a Clay Pot

Clay pot cooking is healthy and easy!

I bought a strange clay pot a few years ago. I didn't know what it was, I bought it as a container for random items. A friend told me that I have a Römertopf. Really, what is it?

A Römertopf is a clay roaster, the name is a German word meaning Roman pot. Although, my clay pot doesn't look like the commercial Römertopf being sold these days, it has been very useful to me. The German Römertopf was introduced in 1967 but clay pot cooking has been around for thousands of years and the technique has been used in different cuisines in Africa, Europe and Asia. We are most familiar with tagine and tangia from Morocco, osso de ballo from Spain and palayok from the Philippines.

I love clay pot cooking because it is simple. You put all your ingredients in the pot that has been soaked in water for 15-30 minutes. It cooks in the oven for 2 hours but the result is a surprisingly delicious meal. The water absorbed by the pot steams the food and keeps it moist while all the flavors and nutrients are not leached out.

Römertopf

To demonstrate this technique, I prepared 

a whole chicken with vegetables.

Römertopf Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

1 whole chicken

1 onion, chopped
6 pcs. red new potatoes
1 garlic bulb, cut in half, crosswise
2 green onions cut 3 inches long
2 medium carrots, cut about 3 inch sticks
1 lemongrass, crushed and chopped 
2 strips of lemon zest
juice of half lemon
Salt, Pepper, Paprika 
Olive oil (optional)

Season the chicken with lemon juice, salt, pepper and paprika, inside and outside.

 Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. I like the flavor of olive oil, so I use it to season the vegetables as well.

 

Fill the cavity of the chicken with lemon grass, lemon zest, garlic. Put the rest the vegetables on the  Römertopf, then put the chicken on top.

 Put the lid on and bake in the oven at 375 F.

After 2 hours, you have a juicy roasted chicken
with roasted vegetables.You also have a rich broth in the bottom ( natural jus ).



Note: To ensure that the chicken is cooked, use a thermometer. It should register 160 F inserted on the thick part of the thigh meat or the thick part of the breast. 


The chicken is ready to serve.

 For presentation, I carve the chicken. I cut the vegetables into smaller pieces and put them all back in the Römertopf. I heat it up for about 5 -10 minutes before serving.

The cooking time may be longer than a usual roasted chicken  but the wonderful   flavour and tenderness of the chicken are worth the wait. 

Simple bread loaf baked in a Romertopf

Ingredients: 

300 g. Bread Flour

150 g. Multigrain flour
30 g. Sugar
15 g. Salt
15 g. Yeast
250 ml. water

Make a regular bread dough. Proof for 2 hours. Knock back 2-3 times.
Shape then proof for 30 min.
Bake in a  preheated Romertopf at 450 F for 30 minutes then reduce
the heat to 375 F and bake for 30 minutes longer.

We can cook just about anything in a clay pot.