cacao

Hello: As promised, the Romertopf chickpea cooking report... I made something-like-a Moroccan tagine of chickpeas in my Romertopf claypot, last night. I was most pleased with the results, as was my dining companion! I soaked the chickpeas overnight in a pinch of baking soda, a la Wolfert, and rinsed the next morning. Then brought them to a boil in fresh water, turned off the heat, rinsed them again. A few hours later, in the (pre soaked) Romertopf they went, with just enough liquid (home made veg stock) to cover, along with a host of flavorings (ginger, tumeric, cumin, smoked paprika, and a bit of garlic). After about an hour and a bit later, I checked on them. I needed to add more stock, and the chickpeas were already nearly cooked (this was at oven temp set to 450 after the Romertopf went in). So, I then added the rest of the dish - baby carrots, a diced turnip, some green olives, preserved lemon, A bit of homemade harissa. An hour and a half later (I turned the heat down to 375), dinner was served! I served this, ahhh, "African Fusion" style - over T'eff flour injera bread. The chickpeas were marvelously tender, yet held their shape well. Maybe not the best texture for scooping up with injera, but they sure tasted fine! I will definitely be trying out more bean recipes in the Romertopf. -Cacao (edited to spell Romertopf correctly)

Here's my 'quick' recipe (just made some today, to go with a killer chocolate mole sauce meal I'm cooking, tonight): 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal 3/4 cup *blue* cornmeal (or all yellow, of course, is fine) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 egg 2 tbsp corn oil 1 cup buttermilk 1 tbsp honey Mix the dry stuff; make a well in the middle of the bowl. Mix the wet stuff thoroughly. Add to dry stuff, and mix just enough to blend ingredients. Pour into 6 paper muffin holders, or a well greased 8" cake pan. place in a 375 degree oven, 'til a toothpick (or spaghetti strand!) comes out clean. (about 20 minutes for muffins) EAT :) additions: chopped jalapenos cheddar cheese on top

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Greetings, I'm new here, but obviously I belong on this thread This is what I like to do with cacao nibs: http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recip...rt_kekehi.shtml But, I prefer my chocolate pretty strong, as I like my spice. The above recipe is quite suited to my tastes, as you will see! -Cacao

Hello, Zeitoun: No, you did not miss it; I didn't specify. I am planning on a stew, something approximating Moroccan in it's flavors. Chickpeas in veg. stock, with baby carrots and red peppers and maybe artichokes, if I can find a few fresh ones. Parsley, preserved lemon, olives and smoked paprika will make up most of the seasonings, with perhaps a touch of the harissa I made the other night. At least, that's what I am currently thinking!

Thank you, Fifi and Paula, for the speedy responses. Paula, as I am new to your cookbooks, I've not yet cooked beans in a beanpot or sandpot - so I suppose I won't have much basis for comparison! In the past I have only cooked dried beans by soaking overnight, and then dumping them into my electric crockpot with *lots* of liquid. I'm going to give this a go on Sunday, by soaking the chickpeas with a touch of baking soda overnight, giving them a good rinse, bringing them to a boil on the stovetop first(?) and letting them cool, then into the Romertof they will go, with just enough liquid to cover them up. I'll post the results as best I can, given my limited experience. I must say, the cazuelas I saw at the Spanish Table in Berkeley a few days ago, look most appealing for future purchasing.... thank you for the welcomes, Cacao

Hello: I'm new here - I did attempt to answer my question with a search - but I didn't quite manage to get it answered, though I got close! I want to give claypot cookery of chickpeas a try, however, I don't have a nice cazuela or other such eartherware glazed pot. It sounds from past posts that using one of those on the stovetop is more common than what I am thinking. I have a Romertof unglazed pot, for inside the oven, and I was hoping to use it to cook some presoaked chickpeas. My question is, does anyone have a feel for whether or not this will work adequately? I note the Romertof is more often used with drier preparations (I bought the thing for baking bread in, which it is great at). If it will work, I'm wondering what temperature to set my oven at, and about how long it wil take to cook the chickpeas. And about how much liquid I ought to use (I want to cook them in a nice mildly spicy broth). Anyone know? Thank you! Cacao

Hello, All; I am new here. I could just about 'blame' this thread for spurring me on to join, here! It seems you all might be able to advise me on a dish I'm hoping to concoct; something of a "psuedo-Mediterranean-Moroccan" stew (I'm not claiming or aiming for authenticity, in this dish, just good taste). I am thinking of trying to cook up a chickpea stew in my Romertof clay pot; these pots are unglazed. I take it from this thread this pot should 'work' ok? My claypot is a pretty large beast; so if I cook a moderate amount of chickpeas in it, there's sure to be a shallow depth of beans in the pot. I was wondering, given that, what oven temp should I cook them at, and roughly how long should I cook the chickpeas for? I'm also planning to add carrots, artichokes, maybe green beans, to the stew; and I am thinking I should add those veggies to the pot halfway through the cooking time of the chickpeas... or not? Your expert advise is welcome! A note to Paula W., if you are reading - thank you for inspiration. I just bought a second cookbook of yours to add to my small but carefully chosen collection. -Cacao