Cookbooks for Cooking in Clay
The welcome explosion of both the slow food movement and a more artisanal mode of cooking has brought us an abundance of tantalizing cookbooks for cooking in clay. Some focus specifically on the process of cooking in clay, while others feature recipes — old and new — particularly suitable to clay cooking. In the cookbooks that follow, not all of the dishes are suitable for clay pot cooking, but a great number are. Since my flameware can be used to in the oven and on the stove to fry, simmer, broil, stew and boil, all forms of soups, stews, moles, adobos, curries and many more are fair game to explore. Below are some of my favorite cookbooks to look through when thinking about cooking in clay.
These cookbooks range culturally from the long-standing tradition of cooking in clay that extends throughout the Mediterranean region — from Spain, France, Italy, Greece, North Africa and the Middle East, and on into Turkey, even Bulgaria and Romania. We also find significant traditions of cooking in clay throughout India, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, South America, Central America, Native America and of course Mexico.
See our Clay Cooking Heritage tab for more on this age-old tradition.
We Recommend
Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking, by Paula Wolfert, c. 2009, John Wiley and Sons, Publisher
The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen, by Paula Wolfert, c. 2003 John Wiley and Sons, Publisher
Artisanal Cooking, by Terrance Brennan and Andrew Freidman, c. 2005 John Wiley and Sons
The Pleasures Of Slow Food, by Corby Kummer, c. 2002 Chronicle Press
Tagines, by Chillie Basan, c. 2014 Aquamarine (UK)
Make It Moroccan, by Hassan M’Souli, c. 2008 New Holland Publishers (Australia)
Anatolia, Adventures In Turkish Cooking Somer Rivdglu and and David Dale c. 2015 Murdoch Books
Ancient Wisdom Modern Kitchen, by Yuan Wang, Warren Shier and Mika Ono c. 2010 Lifelong Books
Gran Cocina Latina, The Food Of Latin America, by Maricel E. Presilla c. 2012 WW Norton
Food Of Life, by Najmieh Batmangij, c. 2015 Mage Publishers
The One Pot And Clay Pot Cookbook, by Jennie Fleetwood, c. 2001 Anness Publishing Ltd. (UK)
Spices Of Life, by Nina Simonds, c. 2005 Alfred Knopf
The Clay Pot Cookbook, by Georgia MacLeod Sales and Grover Sales, c. 1981 Atheneum (written with pots like Romertopf in mind but many recipes applicable)
Donabe: Classic and Modern Clay Pot Cooking, by Naoko Takei Moore and Kyle Connaughton, c. 2015 Ten Speed Press
Japanese Hot Pots, by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat, c. 2009 Ten Speed Press
Japanese Country Cookbook, by Russ Rudzinski, Ryoichi Kokku, c. 1969 Nitty Gritty Publications
A Spoonful of Ginger, by Nina Simonds, c. 2009 Alfred Knopf
Koto: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam, by Tracey Lister and Andres Pohl, c. 2008 Hardy Grant Books (Australia)
Into The Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen, c. 2006 Ten Speed Press
Ready and Waiting: 160 All New Recipes To Make In The Slow Cooker, by Rick Rodgers, c. 1992 Hearst Books
Cooking In Clay, by Irena Chalmers, c. 1974 Potpourri Press
