Yes! to Romertof chickpeas

[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)

Edited February 15, 2005 by cacao (log)

[zeitoun]

This sounds (looks - pictures?) delicious, thanks for reporting back cacao!!

[ludja]

Sounds delicious cacao. Is it possibile to buy injera bread or did you make it yourself?

(Just for search purposes, later on, is the spelling for the clay pot a "Romertopf" or is this a brand name with a different spelling?

(german roots: Rome Pot)

edited to add: I went back and googled "romertof" and there are some entries, looks like it may be a brand name. If you're looking for more recipes though, thr googling 'romertopf" and you'll find tons.

Thanks again for sharing your chickpea "experiment"; your post and paula wolfert's championing had inspired me to read more about clay pot cookery.

Edited February 14, 2005 by ludja (log)

[cacao]

Sounds delicious cacao.  Is it possibile to buy injera bread or did you make it yourself?

I made it myself. The traditional T'eff flolur is pricey, but you can find it in some health Food stores (I got the Bob's Red Mill brand). I made it with half T'eff, half white, flour, a cup each, and a tsp of yeast, let sit for 2 days 'or so' until it bubbles and smells soughdough-ish. After that, it's as easy as making pancakes

(cooked on one side only, and a bit on the thin side.) It sure absorbs the stew liquid in a yummy way.

Actually, I think RomertoPF is the brand name, and RomertoF is an easy to make spelling error!

But now I'm not sure, and I'd have to go back and look at my pot and/or instructions to check.

Thanks again for sharing your chickpea "experiment"; your post and paula wolfert's championing had inspired me to read more about clay pot cookery.

←

You're most welcome - I myself have Paula to 'blame' for getting me interested in trying this, via her cookbooks, so, she has my thanks. For the claypot concept, and, the Harissa recipe!

-Cacao

Edited February 14, 2005 by cacao (log)

[Wolfert]

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!

Cacao:

The tagine sounds delicious.

I am curious about the texture of the chickpeas cooked in the romertopf at such a high heat. Were they soft or firm? Did the skins remain taut?

[cacao]

[ I am curious about the texture of the chickpeas cooked in the romertopf at such a high heat.  Were they soft or firm?  Did the skins remain taut?

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Hello, Paula:

The skins were tight and the 'peas definitely on the firm side (tender to tooth, but not really fork-mashable.) I thought the heat setting was a bit on the high side, but I was going by the recipes given in the Romertopf literature I have (which doesn't amount to much). I did place it into a cold oven to start.

In my ignorance, I'm not sure what you might have expected - would the results have been different at a lower heat, in your opinion?

-Cacao