Slowly slowly
All good things...
Throughout the winter (and in the recent wintry weather!) we have luxuriated in comfort food made in the slow cooker. It so useful to set up a hearty meal before work, or going out for an afternoon hike with the dog at the weekend. It is great to come home to the aromas of a good casserole or curry and know our evening meal will take moments to prepare.
It is also a great way for keeping the diet and budget in check; there is no temptation to stop off for a take-away on the way home!
Slow cooking is a surprisingly versatile way of cooking and we have been trying out recipes from the Good Food website (there is a lovely simple recipe for split pea daal, filling wholesome and good value) and different recipe books we have purchased or borrowed from the library.
There are so many slow cooking recipe books available I am sure I have yet to discover even more brilliant recipes. But the one favourite I have so far is SLOW COOKING by ex Saturday Kitchen host Anthony Worrall Thompson.
It covers one pot recipes for the oven also, but the slow cooking recipes we have tried so far are brilliant, always delivering on texture and flavour. The recipes are do-able and those that seem more complicated than others always reward your efforts.
Favourite cookery books are quite personal and passionate I suppose, because the writer shares your palette and approach in the kitchen already to some degree, but takes you a few more steps on the journey to culinary enjoyment and proficiency. I have yet to try the recipes for puddings and cakes in the slow cooker but there is a cheesecake and chocolate brownie, which was popular at his own bistro that is served with ice cream and looks very tempting!
The savoury recipes such as Buttered chicken and tomato curry and Venison winter stew with herb dumplings we have cooked many times and always enjoy because they are so flavoursome. And as AWT observes they are adaptable – the venison recipe can work equally well with beef or other game meat, such as wild boar or kangaroo.
Here is a simple vegetarian recipe for Italian Leek stew that really brings out the best in leeks and is always popular at our house. You can alter with substitution of feta for mozzarella if you wish to avoid cow’s milk, and other pulses are just as good.
Italian Leek Stew
Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
1kg leeks, cut into 3cm chunks and washed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tsp cayenne pepper
55g Kalamata olives, stoned and roughly chopped
400g tin topped tomatoes
180ml water
400g tin Borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1 ball of cow’s mozzarella, finely diced
12 large basil leaves torn into pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve; brown rice
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the leeks, onion, garlic and cayenne. Fry, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer to your slow cooker.
2. Add the olives and tomatoes, the water and the beans, then stir to combine. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
3. Turn the slow cooker to high and stir in the mozzarella and basil. Cover and cook for a further 15 minutes
4. Season to taste and serve with brown rice
So simple but so good!
More information about Anthony Worrall Thompson, his restaurants the Kew Grill and Greyhound, and his other cookbooks can be found at his official website .
Other recipes are available at bbc food.
This book currently available from amazon second-hand and probably in your local library.
Throughout the winter (and in the recent wintry weather!) we have luxuriated in comfort food made in the slow cooker. It so useful to set up a hearty meal before work, or going out for an afternoon hike with the dog at the weekend. It is great to come home to the aromas of a good casserole or curry and know our evening meal will take moments to prepare.
It is also a great way for keeping the diet and budget in check; there is no temptation to stop off for a take-away on the way home!
Slow cooking is a surprisingly versatile way of cooking and we have been trying out recipes from the Good Food website (there is a lovely simple recipe for split pea daal, filling wholesome and good value) and different recipe books we have purchased or borrowed from the library.
There are so many slow cooking recipe books available I am sure I have yet to discover even more brilliant recipes. But the one favourite I have so far is SLOW COOKING by ex Saturday Kitchen host Anthony Worrall Thompson.
It covers one pot recipes for the oven also, but the slow cooking recipes we have tried so far are brilliant, always delivering on texture and flavour. The recipes are do-able and those that seem more complicated than others always reward your efforts.
Favourite cookery books are quite personal and passionate I suppose, because the writer shares your palette and approach in the kitchen already to some degree, but takes you a few more steps on the journey to culinary enjoyment and proficiency. I have yet to try the recipes for puddings and cakes in the slow cooker but there is a cheesecake and chocolate brownie, which was popular at his own bistro that is served with ice cream and looks very tempting!
The savoury recipes such as Buttered chicken and tomato curry and Venison winter stew with herb dumplings we have cooked many times and always enjoy because they are so flavoursome. And as AWT observes they are adaptable – the venison recipe can work equally well with beef or other game meat, such as wild boar or kangaroo.
Here is a simple vegetarian recipe for Italian Leek stew that really brings out the best in leeks and is always popular at our house. You can alter with substitution of feta for mozzarella if you wish to avoid cow’s milk, and other pulses are just as good.
Italian Leek Stew
Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
1kg leeks, cut into 3cm chunks and washed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tsp cayenne pepper
55g Kalamata olives, stoned and roughly chopped
400g tin topped tomatoes
180ml water
400g tin Borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1 ball of cow’s mozzarella, finely diced
12 large basil leaves torn into pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve; brown rice
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the leeks, onion, garlic and cayenne. Fry, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer to your slow cooker.
2. Add the olives and tomatoes, the water and the beans, then stir to combine. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
3. Turn the slow cooker to high and stir in the mozzarella and basil. Cover and cook for a further 15 minutes
4. Season to taste and serve with brown rice
So simple but so good!
More information about Anthony Worrall Thompson, his restaurants the Kew Grill and Greyhound, and his other cookbooks can be found at his official website .
Other recipes are available at bbc food.
This book currently available from amazon second-hand and probably in your local library.
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