My husband Pete is a genius.
That’s not news to anyone who actually knows him, but even after twenty-five years together, his cleverness still continues to astound me. He can take a basic concept, turn it over in his head, and create something that no-one has ever considered before.
Take this lasagne for example. After his initial resistance, Pete has fallen in love with our Römertopf baker. He and Dredgey have formed a little club, in which they experiment with new dishes in the clay baker, then ring each other up and race next door to critique the finished dish as it’s pulled out of the oven. Being males, they’ve come up with a set of guidelines on how the terracotta pot should be used.
Rule #1: all the ingredients have to be cold and uncooked. I did point out that some of the recipes that came with the pot involved precooking, but the guys have decided that doing so defeats the purpose of using the clay baker. Both of them were discomfited when I browned some chicken prior to adding it in, as that, apparently, is not “in the spirit” of the Römertopf baker.
Rule #2: the pot needs to be washed in the dishwasher. No soaking allowed. Part of the reason for using the clay baker, I’m told, is its ease of clean up. Don’t you love men and their rules?
Ok, onto last night’s dinner. One would think that these parameters don’t really lend themselves to lasagne – a dish where each component is traditionally cooked before assembly, and which usually leaves the cooking vessel covered in baked-on cheese. Lesser mortals might have been dissuaded, but not my husband. After all, he’s an engineer. What you see above is his finished lasagne, baked from cold, and made up of almost all uncooked ingredients – fresh pasta, raw mince, ricotta, raw egg and cheese. The only cooked ingredient was our homemade tomato passata, but this would probably work equally well with a store bought version.
The end result was a joy to eat. It was absolutely delicious and we didn’t have a white sauce pot, a red sauce pot and a pasta pot to wash up.
I asked Pete to write up the recipe for me, and this is what I got. Don’t worry, I’ll translate for you. Big Boy and I laughed at how typically Pete-like the instructions were, so we thought we’d share it with you. I also thought James might find it amusing – he and Pete both have methodical minds…
White Sauce
- 400g fresh ricotta
- 1 egg
- pinch grated nutmeg
- pepper
- ½ tsp salt
Mince Sauce
- 500g lean beef mince
- 4 cups (1 litre) of homemade or bottled passata
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp Italian herb mix
Fresh Pasta Sheets – about ½ kg (you won’t need them all)
Cheese
- Mozzarella – 300g – sliced or grated – this is the one we use.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese – 1 cup
Step 1: Soak the Römertopf baker in a sink of cold water for at least 15 – 30 minutes.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix all the White Sauce ingredients together until well combined.
Step 3: In another large bowl, mix all the Mince Sauce ingredients together, stirring well to break up any lumps in the mince.
Step 4: In the presoaked pot, spoon a third of the Mince Sauce over the base, then cover with a single layer of pasta sheets. Follow this with half the White Sauce, then a handful of cheese, then another sheet of pasta. Repeat, ending with a scattering of cheese on the top. Note that you use a third of the mince sauce each time, and a half of the white sauce.
For the persnickety, here is Pete’s layering chart :
- Cheese (top layer)
- Mince
- Pasta
- Cheese
- White Sauce
- Pasta
- Mince
- Pasta
- Cheese
- White Sauce
- Pasta
- Mince (bottom layer)
Step 5: Put the soaked lid on the pot, then place in a cold oven and raise the temperature to 200C. Bake for 1½ hours. Allow to rest for 15 – 30 minutes before serving, to allow the liquids to absorb into the dish.
Note: check on the lasagne after the first hour of baking. If it’s really wet (it will be moist, but shouldn’t be swimming), you might want to let it cook for a bit with the lid off to reduce the excess liquid. We didn’t need to do this with our dish (ie. we cooked ours for the entire time with the lid on), but it can vary depending on the moisture content of the mince and passata.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering – see that dirty pot in the top picture, complete with burnt edges where the dish overflowed slightly? It went in the dishwasher without any presoaking whatsoever. This is how it came out. Not completely clean, but oh so close that I really can’t complain…
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Wow I love it – lasagne with the raw ingredients?! Fantastic. I am always reluctant to make lasagne because of the need to prepare so many different little bits. I love this approach. And the whole idea of everything going in cold and uncooked is the primary attraction of the romertopf for me I have to say! Go Pete!
Yep the Romersagne is a sure fire winner. Interesting to note how neatly Pete layered up the ingredients when assembling. Respect. It still confuses me why there are so few clay baker/romertopf recipes online? any theories?
Pete IS a genius! I had the good fortune of arriving for lunch today, to be greeted by leftover Romersagne. And joy of joys, it was divine. I must say, if paid $20 in a restaurant for this, I would be happy one happy diner. The romertopf may just be my next kitchen purchase … right after the Flava Shaker.
Spice – we’re the same. Love lasagne, but do we really want to wash up all those pots and chopping boards? Has your Romertopf arrived yet?
Dredgey, we are going to have to make up our own. I too have noticed the dearth of good claypot recipes being turned up by google. Your baked pasta last night was delicious, by the way..
Dan, I wish you could come over for lunch every day. Sigh..
yes it arrived on Tuesday and I had to use it immediately! Made a chicken and vegie thing which was yummy…but I overcooked the chicken breasts too. See what you mean about the temperature. The instructions say 200 degress fan forced. I tried an hour at 150 and noticed that the chicken on the outer edges had cooked beautifully but the pieces in the centre of the pot were totally raw. Difference between clay and iron for heat conducting I guess. So I cranked it up to 200 (starving kids) and half an hour later it was done but a tad overcooked. Going to make some veal in it tonight. Had a plan to get the ingredients all together and in the fridge so Andrew could pop it in (cold – hooray!) and place in the oven after he picks the kids up from school…but it didnt happen. Choc chip biscuit dough took priority for the kids as they are having friends over for a play after school. Oh well, next time. The whole cold ingredients (no browning, frying, etc needed) is so appealing! Pete’s lasagne is on my list for the weekend too….
Pete was reading over my shoulder, and he announced that he doesn’t believe chicken breast pieces work in the clay baker and that thighs and marylands might be better (they cooked to perfection last time, whereas the breasts were dry). It definitely does cook differently to cast iron. I think the amount of time you let the pot soak makes a difference as well – it needs to have at least 15 – 30 minutes submerged.
Are you going to make a veal roast? I’m not sure how veal steaks would work, although we have done a casserole with beef pieces that was very nice indeed.
Would love to know how you go with the lasagne.
Our neighbour Dredgey put fresh noodles and a variety of other ingredients in his baker, then topped it with cubes of fetta. He came out with a perfect baked pasta!
Next thing on my list to try is a variation of Greek moussaka!
PS. Spice, thanks for teaching me how to put my pics into a “montage” format! It worked a treat… :)
looks hot enough to me that you could bake a whole bird (pronounced burrrrrrred) in that sucker
We’ve already done that – baked a free range chicken in it! You put potatoes down the bottom, and the chicken roasts and browns, and the potatoes cook in the chicken juices and fat. Hmmm… :)
Celia and Pete
i love how you’ve turned Dredgy into a cooking maestro! its wonderful….and i’m trying this lasagne dish this week…does it really need this clay pot? If so, where do you find them?
Monica
PS i loved the early version of the ricotta cake…v popular in my household….but am now tempted to try Version #8.
M
Mon, to make the lasagne with “raw” ingredients according to Pete’s recipe, I think you really do need the Römertopf. The reason is that the clay baker is soaked in water first, so it effectively steams the ingredients as it bakes, which is necessary to cook the lasagne sheets. You could try it with a cast iron pot, but we’ve never tried it that way – if you do, I’d love to know how it goes!
The pots are a bargain at the moment at Peters of Kensington, which is why I have one. They’re usually $80 – $90, but at PoK, they’re on sale for $39. They’re really very versatile. El told me last night that she threw a chook into one at 4pm and forgot about it until 6.30pm, and it was fabulous… :)
Glad you liked the ricotta cake! :)
Celia
Chicken, spuds and carrots are in the pot in the oven as I type. Standby for a report
Pete V