Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever (39 page)

Lidgate, a butcher shop in London’s Holland Park area, sells cottage pie to bake at home, and it is divine. My daughter lived around the corner from this wonderful store, and we frequently bought meats there for dinner when I visited. But on nights when we didn’t feel like cooking, the cottage pie would soothe us after a long day on the go. Cottage pie should consist of lamb and vegetables in a rich sauce, covered by rich mashed potatoes. The whole shebang cooks in the slow cooker, which will keep it warm until you are ready to serve it.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2½ to 3 pounds lamb shoulder, fat trimmed, cut into ½-inch chunks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1½ teaspoons dried thyme

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup beef broth

3 medium carrots, cut into ½-inch dice

1 cup frozen petite size peas, defrosted

1½ cups frozen white corn, defrosted

Mashed Potatoes for Stews or Pot Pies

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a large zipper-top plastic bag. Add the lamb, toss to coat, and shake off the excess flour. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the lamb a few pieces at a time and brown on all sides. Transfer the browned meat to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

add the onion and thyme to the skillet and sauté until the onion is softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in both broths and heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the contents of the skillet over the lamb. Cover and cook for 3 hours on high, until the meat is tender. Add the vegetables to the stew and stir to combine.

cover the stew with the mashed potatoes, being careful not to push the potatoes into the stew. Dot the top of the potatoes with the butter. Cover and cook for another 1 hour, until the butter is melted.

scoop servings of the stew covered with mashed potatoes onto each plate.

serves 8

Ireland is famous for their lamb stews, and this one is traditional home cooking—just meat, vegetables (potatoes, of course!), and a delicious slow-simmering sauce. Serve this with Irish soda bread to sop up the wonderful sauce, or hollow out small round loaves of bread and serve the stew in the bread bowls.

12 to 14 baby carrots

14 to 16 tiny new or white creamer potatoes

¼ cup olive oil

3 pounds lamb shoulder meat, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch chunks

1½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups pearl onions, peeled

1½ cups chicken broth

1 cup beef broth

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups petite frozen peas, defrosted

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

arrange the carrots and potatoes in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the meat evenly with the salt and pepper. Add the meat a few pieces at a time to the skillet and brown on all sides. Transfer the meat to the slow-cooker insert.

add the onions to the same skillet and cook until the onions begin to color a bit, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert and stir in the beef broth and thyme. Cover and cook on on high for 3½ to 4 hours or low for 7 to 8 hours.

skim off any fat from the top of the stew. Stir the peas into the stew. Mix the butter and flour until smooth and stir a bit at a time into the stew as well. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes on high until the sauce is thickened.

serve the stew from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

Ground lamb isn’t found as often as ground beef or pork in the supermarket, but it makes some terrific meatballs or meat loaf for dinner in the slow cooker. Think about using lamb for meatballs at your next party because they are flavorful and tender when cooked in their sauce in the slow cooker. All the meatball mixtures in the recipes that follow can also be shaped into a meat loaf; cook on low for five hours until the internal temperature is 185°F.

Called
koftas
in India, these delicious meatballs are full of flavor from the usual suspects: garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, and garam masala. Cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, they are soft and flavored with the cooking liquid. I like to serve these as an appetizer for parties because they tend to wake up my guests. But they are also a delicious main dish served over steamed rice.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sweet curry powder

Pinch of cayenne pepper

One 28- to 32-ounce can tomato purée

½ cup chicken broth

2 pounds ground lamb

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup soft fresh bread crumbs

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and cayenne and sauté for 2 minutes, until the mixture is fragrant.

add the tomatoes and broth and heat, scraping up any of the spices that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.

transfer the sauce to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and keep warm while making the meatballs.

combine all the meatball ingredients except the cilantro in a large mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Shape into 2-inch meatballs and drop into the sauce in the slow cooker.

cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, until the meatballs are cooked through. Skim off any fat from the sauce and stir in the cilantro.

serve the meatballs with skewers from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

Gyros are made from highly seasoned lamb and beef, spit roasted so the outside is crispy and the inside is juicy. Thinly sliced and packed into pita bread with cucumber yogurt sauce, tomatoes, and lettuce, the meat makes a delicious sandwich. Instead of spit roasting lamb, however, we’ll form the meat into balls and cook them in a red wine sauce. These meatballs are highly spiced with garlic, lemon zest, onion, and oregano and are terrific served over pasta or stuffed into pita with salad. Or, they can be served with skewers from the slow cooker for a party.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups red wine, such as Chianti, Barolo, or Zinfandel

1 cup beef broth

1 cup chicken broth

1 pound lean ground lamb

1 pound lean ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed in the palm of your hand

2 slices bread, crusts removed, torn into pieces

¼ cup milk

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Grated zest of 1 lemon

½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes, until softened.

stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine and whisk until the mixture boils. Transfer to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker and stir in the broths.

cover and keep warm while making the meatballs.

combine all the meatball ingredients except the parsley in a large mixing bowl and mix until well blended. Shape into 2-inch balls and carefully place in the sauce.

cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours, until the meatballs are cooked through. Skim off any fat from the top of the sauce and stir in the parsley.

serve from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

Side dishes like risottos, wild rice, and grains are all stellar in the slow cooker, and the best part is you don’t have to stir or watch them. What’s not to love about a risotto that cooks itself? Stuffings, grits, polenta, and other favorites round out this chapter of wonderful side dishes.

I’ve always been partial to the flavor of saffron, which is a spice from the stigma of the crocus plant. It takes a lot of these to make an ounce of saffron, but the flavor is sublime and it colors rice (and risotto) a bright yellow. Buy your saffron from Penzey’s or a local gourmet retailer because what you get in your supermarket is typically an inferior product.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ cup finely chopped shallots

About 1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed in the palm of your hand

3 cups converted white rice

4½ to 5½ cups chicken broth (see savvy)

2 cups frozen petite peas, defrosted

spray the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or line it with a slow-cooker liner according to the manufacturer’s directions.

melt the butter in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and saffron and sauté until the shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the slow-cooker insert.

add the rice and 4½ cups of the broth and stir to combine. cover and cook on high for 2 hours, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Uncover the cooker and stir in the peas.

serve from the cooker set on warm.

serves 8–10

broth savvy

Depending on the brand of rice and size and shape of your slow cooker, you may find that you need to add more broth to the rice. I find it’s a good idea to be prepared and have additional broth on hand. If you don’t use it, label and freeze it in zippertop plastic bags.

This simple dish is a terrific side for lamb, with its tomato and mint flavors mingling with the chewy bulgur. Serve this mounded on a platter, surrounded by lamb or gyros for a delicious meal. Once the bulgur has been cooked, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheat in the slow cooker for another meal.

2 cups medium bulgur

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

Pinch of red pepper flakes

One 14- to 15-ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained but juice reserved

3½ cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil

¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint

coat the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and add the bulgur. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes and sauté until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add the drained tomatoes and cook until there is no liquid left in the pan.

pour the broth in the skillet and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert and stir in the reserved tomato juice and the salt. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, until the bulgur is tender and the liquid is absorbed.

stir in the basil and mint and serve from the cooker set on warm.

serves 8

Polenta is a fine Italian dish that up until now required constant stirring to become creamy, but with your slow cooker, you can have delicious polenta any day of the week. The slow cooker does all the work.

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups cornmeal for polenta

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

coat the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or line it with a slow-cooker liner according to the manufacturer’s directions.

pour the broth, cornmeal, salt, and butter into the slowcooker insert and stir to blend. Cover and cook on high for 1½ to 2 hours, until the polenta is smooth and creamy.

serve from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6

Risottos are made with a medium-grain rice usually labeled Arborio or Carnaroli (my favorite). Risottos can be finicky. If you have watched any Italian food preparation, you know that making risotto on the stovetop involves a lot of stirring and ladling hot broth into the pan. The slow cooker makes a delicious risotto, and you don’t have to baby it at all. However, as with traditional risotto, you do have to cook the rice in butter or oil first, so don’t skip any of the steps.