Oven Bake

Tart crusts can be made from other ingredients, including cooked spaghetti, polenta, and rice, or in this case, thinly sliced potatoes. The goal is to make a crisp, shallow vessel that will contain the filling without leaking. This is especially important when a custard filling is used. The baby artichokes in this recipe can be replaced by thinly sliced artichoke hearts.

This tart with a lattice top is a real showstopper. Your guests’ eyes will light up when it’s brought to the table. Known as a torta rustica in Italy, versions are served around Easter in celebration of the season. The filling is traditionally spinach, though I’ve incorporated other greens for more contrast in flavors. Other versions can have sausage, eggplant, and peppers as the filling.

Risotto is typically made on the stove top with a fair amount of stirring to release the starch from the grains of rice. It can also be baked in a casserole, though it will be less creamy because less starch is released. Cooking it in a wood-fired oven adds a smoky flavor. The asparagus and Swiss chard are perfect additions in spring. You can use any of your favorite seasonal greens in their place. Diced butternut squash or yellow beets are terrific here too, as are the traditional mushrooms.

This is a grown-up mac and cheese with lots of rich Italian flair. Using three flavorful Italian cheeses and incorporating pancetta makes this hearty dish the ultimate comfort food. You can use a different shape of dried pasta as long as it has a cavity to hold the creamy sauce. Try other cheeses, too.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe my friend Deborah Madison shared in her book, Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen. It is absolutely gorgeous! Purple eggplant, red peppers, and golden saffron custard are a beautiful combination. Eggplant and red peppers are the perfect ingredients to cook in a wood-fired oven, as they both take on the wonderful smokiness of the fire. In this recipe, the eggplant is lightly sautéed in a skillet in the oven. The red peppers, tomatoes, and garlic are roasted whole, directly on the floor of the oven or in the embers, until the skins are blistered and beautifully charred. When cooled, they are skinned and seeded. Peppers roasted this way have a more complex flavor than when blackened on the stove top.

This recipe from Georgeanne Brennan shows a classic way to cook in a tajine, layering flavors and food together for the slow, moist cooking. It includes the Moroccan sauce sharmula, which gives a spicy flavor and adds moisture to the fish during the cooking. You can make many variations on this dish, substituting chicken for fish or tomatoes and eggplant for artichokes.

In the south of France, beautiful large ripe tomatoes are often stuffed with herbs and bread crumbs, then served with grilled fish. Here, the tomatoes are wood-roasted for added flavor. You can play with other herbs such as dill or marjoram in the stuffing.

Often people are intimidated by the thought of making a soufflé, but soufflés are actually quite easy to make and are delicious. This simple version has seasonal herbs and greens and is baked as a casserole in a shallow dish. It doesn’t have to be served before it deflates, because the amount of pouf is less important in this presentation. This casserole is wonderful for brunch or a light lunch served with some lightly dressed tender salad greens. If you want a traditional presentation, this same recipe can be made in an 8-cup soufflé dish.

Paula Wolfert and I revised this fabulous dish of hers for cooking in my wood-fired oven. The key is to cook it until the lamb is falling-apart tender. The recipe is adapted from Paula’s book, The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. It comes from the southern Italian region of Apulia, where it is baked in a shallow terra-cotta dish called a tiella. You can make it entirely in the wood-fired oven, or cook the onions and brown the lamb on the stove top, then move it all to the oven to finish cooking.

Scalloped potatoes was one of my favorite childhood dishes. I’ve added the classic combination of crab and spinach to this version and lightened the sauce a bit by using milk instead of cream. You can substitute shrimp or lobster meat for the crab.

Many Mediterranean cuisines wrap fish in leaves for grilling or roasting. This version uses Swiss chard. You can use either the white-stemmed variety or one of the colorful rainbow chards. Use fresh grape or fig leaves for an even more flavorful result.

Coca is the Spanish version of pizza. Here, it is spread with my Smoky Romesco Sauce, a basic in the Spanish pantry. When topped with green onions, roasted potatoes, and sliced hard-cooked eggs, it is an edible canvas of the sunny colors and flavors of this part of the Mediterranean.

This multilayered flatbread is made by spreading the dough with the filling, then folding, rolling, and cooking quickly on both sides on a hot cast-iron griddle or stone. I love to serve them as an appetizer and often add a bit of salty crumbled cheese such as sheep’s milk feta to the filling.

This pizza could be named Umami Pizza because it features the earthy flavors of mushrooms and Gorgonzola cheese. The radicchio provides a slightly bitter flavor for contrast and adds color. Sautéing the mushrooms and garlic in the wood-fired oven adds an additional layer of flavor.

This is one of my favorite savory calzones because the filling is so delicious. The sausage and onions become smoky because they are first cooked in the wood-fired oven. Spinach is a natural with these two ingredients. The creamy, slightly nutty fontina cheese is a great companion to the toasted pine nuts. This combination would be wonderful on a pizza as well.