Wood-Fired Around the World: Traditional Dishes Beyond Pizza

There’s something quite nostalgic about cooking with a live flame, especially one that derives from a wood-fired oven. The crackling of embers and the distinctive smell of sweet smoke take you right back to the good times of holidays abroad. Whilst you’d be forgiven for thinking that an Igneus Wood Fired Pizza Oven is good for one thing only, you’d be very wrong. In this blog, we’re going to showcase some incredible dishes from around the world that can be made authentically using your Igneus Oven. Let’s get to it!

Poulet Rôti au Feu de Bois

A classic French dish that marries the aromatic flavours of garlic and thyme with sweet, succulent wood-fired chicken is truly one of the all-time great combinations. For this one, the chicken is trussed and placed on a rack with a tray underneath to capture all those golden juices. This is where your pizza oven goes from being an inferno of intense heat to a much steadier cooking vessel, demonstrating the true versatility of a wood-fired pizza oven. You’ll want to aim for an oven temperature of around 200°C for this dish to ensure the skin becomes gnarly and crispy, whilst the meat is moist and tender; around 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. It’s always a good idea to use a meat probe to double-check the internal temperature. 

Paella Valenciana

Does anything scream Spain more than Paella? Originating from Valencia, this dish is a celebration of saffron-infused rice, and your choice of meat and/or seafood. Although you could get away with cooking this in a standard oven, it’s a dish that’s made 100% better by incorporating the element of wood fire. And it’s more traditional too! Begin by softening onions, garlic, and bell peppers in olive oil, stir in short-grain rice and toasted saffron, then add stock and your choice of meat and fish. Traditionally made with either chicken or rabbit, but also with varieties of seafood such as king prawns and mussels, this one can be made to your own preferences. Get your oven to around 240-280 °C. It will take around 20-25 minutes, remembering to rotate the pan to ensure even cooking throughout. Check out our recipe here.

Tandoori Chicken

We all love a bit of Indian tandoori chicken. The problem is that it’s almost impossible to truly emulate the searing dry heat of a clay tandoori oven at home. Until now, that is! Your Igneus Pizza Oven can be used to create the intense heat and smoky environment that gives the chicken its signature charred edges and deep flavour. Marinate chicken breast or thigh meat 24 hours before you intend to cook it, in a mix of yoghurt, lemon juice, and a blend of spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala. Once marinated, skewer the chicken onto metal skewers, ready to be cooked. Don’t use wooden skewers as they’ll burn. Get your oven temperature to around 320-350°C, and ensure you rotate the skewers as they cook so the yoghurt doesn’t burn, and you get an even char on the meat. 

Lamb Kleftiko

Few things beat the taste of slow-cooked lamb shoulder, and this traditional dish from Greece is one that certainly ticks all the boxes for you, lamb lovers! The unique thing about this dish is that it’s cooked in a ‘parcel’, meaning all the juices of the meat and vegetables are retained. Marinate your lamb shoulder overnight with garlic, oregano, lemon zest, and olive oil, then wrap tightly in foil parcel with carrots, onions, potatoes and whole vine tomatoes. Your Igneus oven really comes into its own for this dish as you can spread the glowing embers across the floor of the oven, place the tightly wrapped parcel on top of the embers and then throw a few more on top for good measure. Try to keep the oven at around 160°C for around 3 hours. Put the door on the oven to retain as much heat as possible and keep adding wood as required. At the end of the 3 hours, check the tenderness of the lamb. If it falls apart, it’s done. You can at this stage, tip everything put onto a cast iron dish and add back to the oven uncovered to crisp up those potatoes! Serve with some tzatziki and Greek salad! Perfection.

Final Thoughts

So, there we have it, we hope our short demonstration of how your Igneus Wood Fired Oven can be used to make such a wide variety of dishes from all across the world. From classically French Poulet Rôti au Feu de Bois to authentic Indian Tandoori Chicken, your oven really is a passport to amazing flavour beyond just great pizza!

As always, if you have any questions about our range of ovens and accessories or need further advice, feel free to get in touch with us at 01423 575885. You can also explore our full selection of products here. Happy cooking!