More Slow Cooker Recipes

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PREPARATION TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 2 HOURS 10 MINUTES

SERVES 4

This risotto is SO easy to make – there’s no standing over a pot stirring for ages. Instead everything is mixed together and then left to its own devices.

4 tbsp good-quality olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

25g (1oz) butter

250g (9oz) risotto rice

750ml (1¼ pints) chicken or vegetable stock

1 × 400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes

25g (1oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 handfuls of rocket leaves

Warm a quarter of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic and sweat gently without colouring for about 5 minutes.

Cover the base of the slow cooker dish with the remaining olive oil. Place the cooked onion and garlic into the dish together with the butter, rice, stock and tomatoes and mix well. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 2 hours or until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Don’t be tempted to stir or remove the lid.

Stir in the Parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold the rocket through the risotto and serve with plenty of Parmesan to sprinkle over.

COOKING CONVENTIONALLY?

Follow the recipe using a large casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid instead of the slow cooker dish. Add 250ml (9fl oz) cold water before cooking in an oven preheated to 18o°C (350°F), Gas mark 4, for 1 hour or until tender, then stir in the rocket and Parmesan and serve.

Warm tomato and olive caponata (#ulink_83138d0d-6cab-5425-855e-0ee2b8571982)

PREPARATION TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 4 HOURS

SERVES 6 AS AN ACCOMPANIMENT

VEGETARIAN

The gentle heat in slow cooking encourages all the wonderful flavours and sweetness out of these ingredients. This dish is rather like an Italian ratatouille and is great with fish and meat as an accompaniment, or as a meal in itself with pasta or a baked potato.

2 large aubergines, cut into chunks

3 celery sticks, trimmed and finely diced

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

1 tbsp baby capers in brine, drained

75g (3oz) stoned olives

25g (1oz) caster sugar, plus extra to taste

150g (5oz) concentrated tomato purée

4 tbsp red wine vinegar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp cold water

Add the vegetables to the slow cooker dish with the capers, olives, sugar, tomato purée, vinegar, ¼ teaspoon of salt and the water and mix well. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 4 hours or until softened and tender.

Season to taste with more sugar and salt and pepper before serving.

COOKING CONVENTIONALLY?

Cook in an ovenproof casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid for 1 hour in an oven preheated to 170°c (325°F), Gas mark 3.

2 Chillies and pasta sauces (#u2129ecf2-e087-5e9e-aa31-05fd0e56592b)

Quick tomato sauce (#ulink_acb7580e-a376-5a19-979f-3956f93e2b36)

PREPARATION TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 10–15 HOURS

SERVES 6

VEGETARIAN

This sauce might be slow cooked, but in terms of the preparation involved it is most definitely a ‘quick’ sauce in my book! The slow cooker then does the rest of the work, drawing out all the sweetness in the tomatoes to make a fabulously rich sauce.

2 × 400g (14oz) tins chopped tomatoes

1 small onion, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to taste

A large pinch of dried oregano

A small pinch of dried basil

A pinch of cayenne pepper

½ tsp sea salt

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, herbs, cayenne pepper and salt into the slow cooker dish. Cover with the lid and cook for 10–15 hours or until thick and rich.

Season to taste with more salt and pepper and olive oil. And that’s it! Spoon over hot pasta with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese to serve.

I ALSO LIKE …

to make a big batch of this sauce and freeze in portions for a quick meal, any time.

Creamy roasted garlic and rocket pasta sauce (#ulink_4d0b30a4-0a2c-59be-abe6-26a0f6f3732a)

PREPARATION TIME: 2 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 2½–3 HOURS, PLUS COOKING THE PASTA

SERVES 4

VEGETARIAN

Slow cooking garlic makes it sweet and flavoursome – perfect in a creamy pasta dish like this.