Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever (22 page)

This is messy, but oh so good to eat! Spicy garlic wine butter coats these crab claws, and the pot can be put on the center of your dining table for everyone to serve themselves. Make sure to provide crackers, picks, and bibs for your family to be able to pick apart the crab. I crack the crab shells or cut them with kitchen shears. That way, more garlic butter will seep into the crab, giving it a more spicy, sweet flavor. Make this for a casual dinner on the porch or deck, and serve the claws in shallow bowls to catch the juices, accompanied

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

½ cup olive oil

10 cloves garlic, sliced (see savvy)

2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

2 cups dry white wine or vermouth

1 lemon, thinly sliced

3 to 4 pounds cooked crab legs and claws, cracked (see savvy)

put the butter, oil, garlic, seasoning, wine, and lemon in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Add the crab, spoon the sauce over the crab, and cook for an additional 1½ hours, turning the crab in the sauce during cooking.

serve the crab from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

garlic savvy

Why slice the garlic? The garlic in this dish will be cooking for a long time and will eventually become mellow like roasted garlic, the flavor I want, rather than the sharper flavor of minced garlic. Remember, the smaller the piece of garlic, the more intense the flavor.

crab savvy

I love to make this dish with frozen king crab legs, but it is also delicious with stone crab claws, snow crab claws, or Dungeness crab claws. Crab is usually processed on boats, meaning that it is already cooked, but the slow cooker steams it so that it doesn’t dry out or get tough.

Bouillabaisse comes from the Mediterranean region of France. Although there are many variations on the typical bouillabaisse, according to the late Julia Child, it has two components: a fish soup base made with the region’s aromatic vegetables and herbs, and the fish. Since this is a typical fisherman’s stew, made with what’s left from the catch of the day, the fishy ingredients are left up to the cook. I’ve suggested a few that work best in the slow cooker.

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 leeks, cleaned and coarsely chopped, using the white and tender green parts

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 bulb fennel, ends trimmed, coarsely chopped

Grated zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

Pinch of cayenne pepper

One 28- to 32-ounce can crushed tomatoes, with their juice

½ cup white wine or dry vermouth

3 cups clam juice

1 cup chicken broth

½ pound littleneck clams

½ pound mussels

3 pounds thick-fleshed fish, cut into 1-inch chunks

½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, garlic, fennel, zest, thyme, saffron, and cayenne and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and wine and cook down for 10 minutes, to concentrate the flavors. Transfer the mixture to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

add the clam juice and broth to the slow-cooker insert and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove the cover and place the clams and mussels in the sauce.

place the fish on top of the shellfish and spoon the sauce over the top of the fish. Cover and cook on high for 45 minutes, until the fish is cooked through and opaque and the clams and mussels have opened.

discard any clams and mussels that haven’t opened. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.

serves 6–8

Catalonia is a region of Spain that includes the beautiful city of Barcelona.
Zarzuela de marisco
, a Catalonian seafood stew, is decidedly spicier than its French cousin, bouillabaisse. A red pepper–based garlic, onion, and tomato mixture called
sofrito
starts the stew, with the addition of spicy sausage to add a smoky note. Recipes vary, but most include clams, fish, and prawns. For the slow cooker I’ve chosen clams and fish, which enhance the rich sauce nicely. Make sure to serve lots of crusty bread to soak up the sauce, and hand out bibs to catch any drips!

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

1 teaspoon hot paprika

1 cup finely chopped Spanish chorizo or sopressata salami

One 28- to 32-ounce can crushed tomatoes

2 cups clam juice

1 cup chicken broth

2 pounds firm-fleshed fish, such as halibut, monkfish, cod, or sea bass fillets, cut into 1-inch chunks

1½ pounds littleneck clams

½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, saffron, paprika, and chorizo and sauté until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and transfer the contents of the skillet to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the clam juice and broth and stir to combine.

cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Add the fish and clams to the slow-cooker insert, spooning some of the sauce over the fish and pushing the clams under the sauce.

cover and cook for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, until the clams have opened and the fish is cooked through and opaque. Discard any clams that haven’t opened.

sprinkle the parsley over the stew and serve immediately.

serves 6–8

Gorgeous pink salmon glazed with miso and flavored with ginger and a bit of honey is a simple dish to serve for dinner on a bed of stir-fried Napa cabbage or vegetables. Halibut or sea bass make equally delicious substitutions if salmon is not available.

3 pounds salmon fillets

3 tablespoons white Miso

3 tablespoons honey

¼ cup rice wine (mirin) or dry sherry

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

place the salmon in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

combine the miso, honey, rice wine, and ginger in a mixing bowl and stir.

pour the sauce over the salmon in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1½ hours, until the salmon is cooked through and registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of a thick fillet.

carefully remove the salmon from the slow-cooker insert with a large spatula. Remove the skin from the underside of the salmon (if necessary) and arrange the salmon on a serving platter.

strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan. Boil the sauce, reduce it to a syrupy consistency, and serve with the salmon.

serves 8

The herby aroma of the poaching liquid in this dish is intoxicating, and the gorgeously pink salmon covered with tomatoes is a sight to behold when you remove the cover of your slow cooker. The salmon is perfectly cooked, moist, flavorful, and tender, and the pan sauce makes a delicious accompaniment.

3 pounds salmon fillets

½ cup dry white wine or vermouth

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

½ cup olive oil

One 28- to 32-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained

½ cup heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

place the salmon in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and pour in the white wine.

put the garlic, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, oil, and tomatoes in a food processor and process until smooth. Spoon the mixture over the salmon in the slow-cooker insert.

cover and cook on high for 1½ to 2 hours, until the fish is cooked through.

transfer the salmon from the slow-cooker insert to a serving platter and remove the skin. transfer the sauce to a saucepan and bring to a boil, reducing the sauce by about ¼ cup. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Season with the salt and pepper.

serve the salmon and top with some of the sauce.

serves 6

Once you taste this tuna, you will never go back to the grocery store’s tuna shelf again. Slow-poaching in olive oil makes the tuna succulent, like a duck confit. After making this once, you may want to experiment by adding red pepper flakes, lemon zest, or garlic to add flavor to the oil. The tuna will keep in the refrigerator for about one week, and it’s delicious in Niçoise salad, pasta sauces, and tuna noodle casserole.

3 pounds tuna fillets

Olive oil to cover (about 3 cups)

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

place the tuna in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and pour the oil over the tuna. The oil should cover the tuna, and depending on the shape of your slow cooker, you may need to add a bit more oil. Add the salt to the slow-cooker insert.

cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, until the tuna is cooked through and is white. Remove the tuna from the oil and cool completely before using.

serves 6

Nothing could be easier than this simple, flavorful dish. I call sea bass the no-brainer of fish, because it’s almost impossible to overcook. The sea bass’ protein structure is quite different from that of other fish and has to be cooked longer and slower than its thickfleshed counterparts like salmon and halibut. In this dish, the sea bass marinates in a cilantro and lemon mixture, and is then added to a tomato and cumin sauce. The fish has a buttery texture and is richly flavored from both the marinade and the sauce. Although couscous is the traditional accompaniment, I’ve added potatoes to the tagine as they absorb a lot of flavor from the sauce, making this a terrific one- pot meal.

2 pounds sea bass fillets

½ cup olive oil

Grated zest of 1 lemon

¼ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

One 28- to 32-ounce can crushed tomatoes, with their juice

6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, quartered

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

place the fish in a zipper-top plastic bag.

whisk ¼ cup of the oil, the zest, lemon juice, paprika, and cilantro together in a small bowl. Pour the marinade over the fish in the bag. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.

heat the remaining ¼ cup oil in a large skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add the garlic, onion, cumin, and saffron and sauté until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Place the potatoes in the bottom of the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and sprinkle them evenly with the salt and pepper, tossing to coat. Add the tomato mixture to the insert. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, until the potatoes are almost tender.

pour the marinade into the insert and stir the potatoes and sauce to combine. Put the fish on top of the potatoes and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Cook for an additional 1 to 1½ hours, until the sea bass is cooked through and is opaque in the center.

sprinkle the parsley evenly over the top of the sea bass and serve immediately, scooping up some potatoes and sauce with the fish.

serves 6

Halibut loves the slow cooker—it cooks evenly and remains moist and tender. Along with the lemon, garlic, and butter sauce flavored with chives, this makes a delightful dinner served over cheesy mashed potatoes or ratatouille.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

½ cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

½ cup lemon juice

Grated zest of 1 lemon

¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives

2 to 3 pounds halibut fillets

½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

combine the butter, oil, garlic, paprika, lemon juice, zest, and chives in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

add the halibut to the pot, spooning the sauce over the halibut. Cover and cook for an additional 40 minutes, until the halibut is cooked through and opaque.

sprinkle the parsley evenly over the fish, and serve immediately.

serves 6

This delicious recipe only needs five ingredients, and they all get tossed into the cooker—dinner is ready when you are! What’s not to like about salsa-covered halibut with a garnish of melted Monterey Jack cheese? Serve this delicious fish in warm corn tortillas for a fish taco dinner, or serve it over steamed rice with a side of black beans.

3 cups prepared medium-hot salsa

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 to 3 pounds halibut fillets

1½ cup finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or pepper Jack for a spicy topping)

combine the salsa, lime juice, and cumin in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and stir. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 2 hours.

put the halibut in the cooker and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the fish. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the fish. Cover and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes.

remove the halibut from the slow cooker and serve on a bed of the sauce.

serves 6