Traditional Wood Fired Pizza Ovens

Wood Fired Oven Recipes and Tips

WOOD OVEN CHICKEN PROVENCALE 

The beauty of cooking in a Wood Oven is that the heat reflects from the floor and walls  of the oven , creating an enveloping heat that surrounds and caramelizes each ingredient.
This dish cooks beautifully when the oven is on a low ember - check frequently, as the oven is hot and your food will cook faster  than in a conventional oven.

1kg Chicken thigh cutlets cut in pieces, keep the bones too
Olive Oil
1/4 cup flour for dredging
Salt and Pepper
4 rashers bacon
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
4 stalks celery
2 carrots
10 Mushrooms
10 small potatoes ( or 4 big ones )
1/2 cup white wine
3  cups chicken stock
1 cup Rob's pizza sauce ( or a tin of diced tomatoes, 4 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp brown sugar,)
bay leaves, oregano

Dredge the chicken pieces well in plenty of seasoned flour, put chopped bacon, onion and garlic in your pan with a good slug of olive oil. Saute the onions, garlic and bacon in the oven for 4/5 minutes until sizzling, add the chicken pieces stirring well through the bacon and onion mixture, return to the oven for 5/6 minutes until the chicken starting to brown. Deglaze with the white wine and return to the oven for 3/4 minutes. Remove the pan and add the rest of the chopped vegetables. Return to the oven for 5/6 minutes  so the veges get a bit roasted before adding the stock. Add the stock, tomato sauce, bay leaves and oregano. All ingredients should be well covered with liquid - more than you think you need as the heat of the oven evaporates quite a bit.  Cover and return to the oven for 15/20 minutes, check if the veges are cooked through. If too liquidy remove the top for a few minutes uncovered.

 

 

WOOD OVEN PAELLA:

You can make a beautiful Paella in your wood fired oven. Just follow these simple steps: 

Oven temperature should be around 200-240C
Put your steel pan in the oven and heat a good amount of  olive oil  - add onions and garlic and saute til transluscent stirring
Take out the pan,  add your Calaspara rice, stir well so the rice is coated  thorugh the oil and onions and return to the oven to toast the rice for a minute or so.
Take the pan out and add 1.5  cup of white wine - back in the oven til the wine reduces by half

Heat your stock on the stove -  about 3  cups per cup of rice - you can add smoked paprika or cayenne or saffron to the stock.
Take out the pan and place sliced chorizo, chicken pieces,  fish ( we used Terakihi) ,  prawns,  2 x cubed tomatoes, - ( all uncooked ) a big handful of italian parsley
Pour the stock over all the ingredients - the liquid  should cover  everything  and almost be at the top of the pan.
Return the pan to center of the oven and cook uncovered - once the stock is simmering cook for 15 minutes more,  do not stir - the rice should just be showing at the top of the liquid now.
Remove pan form oven and snuggle your mussels into the rice, openings down
Return pan to the oven for 5 - 10 mins more until the mussels have opened, and the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.. Not too dry though ! there should stil be a bit of movement.  Remove Paella pan from the oven,  you can let it rest for 5 minutes out of the heat 

Add lemon or lime wedges,  and serve !  

ROAST VEGETABLES MELEE:

Roasting vegies in the oven makes them caramelise on the outside and stay moist on the inside.  Do them in a covered roasting dish and add a bit of  liquid. Check often and take the lid off for the last few minutes 

Try a combo of carrots, baby beetroot, brussel sprouts,baby spanish onions and snow peas  - toss them in a mixture of soy sauce, honey and sesame oil and sprinkle over sesame and pumpkin seeds.  Roast in the oven on a low ember for 15 mins. Take of the lid for the last few minutes . 

** we are always looking for new ideas, if you have a great wood fired oven tip or recipe please email us so we can add it to our page ! ***

MAKE AN ENQUIRY