Cazuela is a South American stew cooked in a special pot made of terracotta, which can be used in the oven or over a fire. The dish contains two or three types of meat, root vegetables, and South American squash. The pots are made in a village in Chile called Pomaire and have become popular in Spain.
Cazuela is both a very special type of South American stew and the very special pot in which it is cooked. While both Chileans and Argentines will swear that the heart of this dish is beating for the first time over the fires of their ancestral cooks, all who taste a truly well-constructed cazuela will want to make it their personal national dish. Authentic cazuela, regardless of accent, contains two or three types of meat, potatoes or other root vegetables, and a few pieces of South American squash called calabaza.
The first cazuela pots were fired thousands of years ago over very low heat for a long time. Today, as in the past, once they have been seasoned by immersing them in water, these terracotta pots become so robust that they can be used not only in the oven but directly over a fire. Cazuelas are beautiful not only in their usefulness but also in their appearance; dark red to black, made today with curved edges and whimsical animals in the handles, these pots go straight from the stove to the table. Because they hold their heat so well, their contents will simmer for several minutes as the family gathers.
The stew-like South American soup is commonly made with a base of beef or pork. You can also use chicken or turkey. Home cooks often add whatever greens are available, such as green beans, tomatoes, or summer squash. To make the soup more soupy, you can add rice, noodles or other grains to thicken it. Most cooks leave whole chunks of meat and vegetables out so diners can start by slurping down the soup and attacking the large chunks of stew.
In Chile, a small village a few hours’ drive from Santiago called Pomaire is dedicated to the production of cazuela pots of all sizes, as well as other pottery. Every street in the rustic village is lined with houses attached to family shops where goods are spread out on blankets or piled on shelves. The most common size is an individual serving dish; these can go straight into the oven to cook their ingredients. A popular tourist purchase is a large pot that bears a happy pig’s head at one end of the rim, a curly tail at the other, and pig’s trotters instead of regular pot legs.
Cazuela – both the pots and the dish that is created in them – have also become popular in Spain. Commercially produced cazuelas populate the shelves of supermarkets and department stores, but there’s nothing like a beautiful bowl created by hand. These become family treasures inherited by each successive generation.
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