I’ve just got a slow cooker. What good, flavourful dishes should I make in it?
Pete, Horsham, West Sussex
Put aside its cumbersome appearance and you’ll be hard pushed to deny the allure of the slow cooker: add your ingredients in the morning and, without supervision, you’ll have a meal ready and waiting come dinner time. “I love coming home when it’s cold and dark and the kitchen smells amazing,” says Guardian columnist and slow cooker fan Tamal Ray. “You can also use cheaper cuts of meat that tend to need more time and love to unleash their flavour slowly.” Slow cookers save on energy, too – according to research by energy supplier Utilita, slow cookers cost about 16p a day to run (electric ovens typically cost 87p) – so this is a win-win.
When cooking low and slow, Ray often turns to lamb on the bone. “It’s how my mum would do it,” he says. “Fry that with garlic, ginger and paprika, then throw in a couple of cans of chopped tomatoes, some soaked chickpeas [about 300g] and salt, and leave over the course of the day.” If he’s feeling fancy, Ray chars an aubergine over the flame on a gas hob, then, once it’s cool enough to handle, removes the skin, “chops up the flesh and adds that to the slow cooker towards the end. The smokiness is delicious.”
Rebecca Woods, author of Foolproof Slow Cooker, is also on the pulse with her “baked” beans. She first cooks diced onion and garlic in a frying pan, then transfers them to a slow cooker with [soaked and drained] haricot beans, passata and some water. Up the flavour ante with the addition of some smoked paprika, maple syrup and chunks of crispy bacon, then cook for eight hours. “Pile into jacket potatoes and top with cheese, or just serve as they are on toast.”
A whole chicken is also a cinch to do in a slow cooker. James Jay, head chef at Sur-Mer at The Suffolk in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, tends to go fresh and zingy (lemongrass, ginger, chilli, garlic, lime leaves, stock) or “hearty and homely”, inspired by the traditional chicken hotpot (potato, carrot, onion, celery, mushrooms, stock). Meanwhile, Ray’s other go-to is pheasant and apple stew: “Joint two pheasants and brown them in butter with salt and pancetta.” This then goes in a slow cooker with 500ml cider, dried thyme, bay, sliced onion and carrots, and is left to simmer, adding a few chunks of apple for the last hour of cooking. Another fruity little number, Jay says, is pork shoulder (“or cheeks, which are much cheaper”) and quince, which also involves cider, star anise, a splash of vinegar and water. “For me, the beauty of a slow cooker is you’ve got one pot, so you’re not using multiple pans.”
Finally, you can’t get much more autumnal than butternut squash, which Woods pairs with spelt. “It’s like risotto, but feels more wholesome.” It couldn’t be easier, either: soften onion and garlic in a frying pan with a bit of oil, tip into a slow cooker with stock, spelt, diced squash and apple, sage leaves, chilli flakes and seasoning, and cook on high for a few hours. Eat topped with goat’s cheese, more sage and toasted walnuts: “Walnuts provide crunch, which is usually difficult to achieve in a slow cooker”.
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