200 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes. Katie Bishop
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
50g (2oz) ham, finely shredded
Pour the olive oil into the slow cooker dish, then mix in the leeks, garlic, drained split peas and stock.
Cover with the lid and cook on high for 1 hour. Remove the lid and skim off and discard any froth from the surface with a slotted spoon. Mix the soup well, then cover again and cook for a further 1–2 hours or until the peas are tender.
Ladle the soup into serving bowls and top with the parsley and shredded ham. Serve with hot buttered toast.
I ALSO LIKE...
replacing the ham with hot, crispy bacon pieces.
CHICKEN AND LEMON SOUP
Slow cooking the chicken on the bone before adding it to the soup gives it a wonderful flavour.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 6½–8½ hours
Serves 4
750g (1lb 10oz) chicken wings
1 celery stick, trimmed and finely diced
1 leek, trimmed and finely diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 fresh lemon thyme sprig, plus extra to garnish (or use 1 ordinary thyme sprig)
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (preferably unwaxed)
1 large potato, peeled and cut into small 1cm (½in) cubes
3 tbsp double cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the chicken wings, celery, leek, garlic, thyme and lemon zest and juice into the slow cooker dish and mix well. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 2 hours, stirring halfway through cooking.
After 2 hours, carefully pour enough boiling water into the slow cooker dish to cover the chicken and stir to combine. Cover with the lid again and cook on low for a further 4–6 hours (the longer the better).
Strain the chicken and vegetables through a sieve into a large saucepan. Pick over the chicken, discarding any skin or bone but saving the meat, and add the meat to the pan. Bring to the boil over a high heat, skimming with a slotted spoon to remove any remaining skin, sinew or bits of vegetable that have escaped the straining process.
Add the potato to the soup and simmer for 10 minutes or until the potato is tender. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately sprinkled with a few lemon thyme leaves.
I ALSO LIKE...
to use baby pasta or risoni (a type of pasta that looks like large grains of rice, used in soups, salads, stews, stuffings, etc.) instead of potato in this soup.
SPICY SEAFOOD CHOWDER
A hearty soup with just enough spice to give your taste buds a bit of a kick. If you don’t like spicy food, then either add more crème fraîche or simply less chilli.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2¼ hours
Serves 4
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, diced
4 tbsp dry vermouth
1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
2 celery sticks, trimmed and cut into 5mm (¼in) pieces
250g (9oz) floury potatoes, peeled and diced into 1cm (½in) cubes
2 corn on the cob
2 bay leaves, broken
500ml (18fl oz) chicken or vegetable stock
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely diced
3 tbsp crème fraîche
250g (9oz) mixed ready-to-eat, cooked seafood, such as prawns, calamari or mussels
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Warm a frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the bacon and stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until opaque but not coloured. Add the vermouth and remove the pan from the heat. Stir well, scraping any caramelised bacon from the base of the pan, pour into the slow cooker dish, then add the onion, celery and potatoes to the slow cooker dish.
Stand the corn on their ends and carefully run a knife from top to bottom to cut off the kernels. Add to the slow cooker dish together with the bay leaves and stock.
Place half of the chillies in the slow cooker dish and set the rest aside. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 2 hours or until the potato is tender.
Ladle half of the chowder into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Return the purée to the slow cooker dish and mix in. Add the crème fraîche, seafood and the remaining chillies and mix to combine. Cover again and leave for 15 minutes to heat through thoroughly. Serve immediately in warm bowls, sprinkled with chopped dill.
VIETNAMESE BEEF ‘PHO’ BROTH
This is a substantial meal in a bowl. It’s a nice idea to assemble this dish at the dining table – serve a bowl of noodles and then a selection platter with bean sprouts, spring onions and more sliced chilli for example – and let people customise their own broth.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 8–10 hours
Serves 4
400g (14oz) beef feather steak (available from good butchers) or braising steak, sliced into thin strips
1 red chilli, sliced
1 tsp shredded fresh root ginger
1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole
6 cloves (optional)
1.3 litres (2¼ pints) cold good-quality beef stock
250g (9oz) vermicelli (fine rice noodles)
100g (3½oz) bean sprouts
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely shredded
4 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves, plus some whole
4 tbsp roughly chopped mint leaves, plus some whole
Juice of 1 lime, to taste
1 tbsp fish sauce, to taste
Lime wedges, to serve
Place the steak strips in the slow cooker dish and top with the chilli, ginger, garlic, cloves (if using) and stock. Make sure that the meat is completely immersed in the stock. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 8–10 hours or until the meat is wonderfully tender.
When you’re ready to eat, place the noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for 4 minutes. Drain thoroughly, then divide among 4 deep serving bowls. Top each one with a handful of bean sprouts, some spring onion, chopped coriander and mint.
Season the hot stock with the lime juice and fish sauce to taste. Top the noodles with the cooked beef and then ladle over the hot stock. Garnish with a few whole mint and coriander leaves. Serve immediately with lime wedges to squeeze over.