Saskia Sidey - Vegan slow cooking.

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So why use a slow cooker to make your vegan dishes?

Its quick and easy

No babysitting your dinner, no constant stirring at the stove a slow cooker makes light work of big hearty dishes. While they may take longer to cook than traditional recipes using a hob or oven, the time you save on prep is invaluable.

Its healthy

You can extract the maximum flavour from your ingredients, locking in their nutrients without the need for lots of cooking fats.

Its cheaper

Not only can you make the most out of inexpensive root vegetables, and use dried herbs instead of fresh, slow cookers use far less electricity to power than other cooking methods, saving you even more money.

Its portable

You can take your slow cooker with you anywhere use it on camping trips, take it to a holiday rental or just set it up in the living room when youre catering for large groups and dont have the counter space.

A note on slow cooker capacity

All the recipes were tested in a 6.5 litre (11 pint) slow cooker, so adjust quantities and cooking times according to the capacity of your slow cooker if necessary. Take particular care with baking recipes: if using a 3.6 litre (6 pint) slow cooker, instead of baking the batter in a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin where instructed, line the bottom and sides of the slow cooker pot with nonstick baking paper and add the batter directly; and for the , halve the ingredient quantities.

Follow these simple guidelines to ensure successful slow cooking every time.

Less is more

If youre adapting one of your favourite recipes to be made in the slow cooker, be sure to reduce the liquid content by at least one-third, if not one-half. Because of the tight-fitting lid and prolonged cooking process, most of the liquid will not evaporate from a slow cooker, so you could end up with a thin, runny sauce. If this does happen, transfer the cooking liquid to a saucepan and simmer briskly, uncovered, on the hob until reduced, or remove 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid and mix with 1 tablespoon cornflour in a cup until smooth, return to the pan and simmer for a few minutes, stirring, until thickened.

Layer flavours

Although a lot of the time it can be tempting to skip preliminary stages like sauteing onions and garlic, toasting spices or marinating vegetables, these steps will add deep flavour to your dishes. You can, of course, just throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker to cook, but you might end up with something a little less tasty.

Consider temperature

Be mindful of whether your ingredients are fridge-cold before going into the slow cooker this will affect cooking times. Make sure any stock in the recipe is boiling hot before its added, or again this will significantly delay the cooking process. If youre in a hurry, you can also preheat your slow cooker while you prep.

Keep greens fresh

Slow cooking some green vegetables can lead to them looking a bit brown and sludgy. Unless otherwise instructed, always add leafy green vegetables and fresh herbs at the last minute to keep things vibrant.

Put a lid on it (sometimes)

We always want to peek into our slow cooker to check on progress, but its important to resist the urge, as opening the lid lets the carefully calibrated temperature of the slow cooker dip and can affect your dish. Each time you open the lid will add about 15 minutes to the cooking time. However, when baking certain dishes or attempting to reduce liquid in a dish, its often advisable to place a tea towel or kitchen paper underneath the lid to trap the steam, or to position the lid slightly ajar for some of the cooking time to allow steam to escape, as directed in the recipes.

Make cleaning up a breeze

Where possible, grease your slow cooker pot to avoid any stuck-on food at the end of the cooking process. When baking or cooking a very sticky mixture, line the pot with nonstick baking paper, or stock up on specially designed plastic slow cooker liners that can prevent burnt bottoms and crusty slow cooker pots.

Be flexible

Slow cooking is not the most intuitive way to cook, and different models of slow cooker run at slightly different temperatures, so you have to keep a degree of flexibility with cooking times and get to know your own cooker. A recipe that says it takes 2 hours to cook could be ready in closer to half that time in some slow cookers.