Cook - 101 Slow Cooker Favourites: Triple-tested Recipes

Editor Sarah Cook

Slow cookers are making a comeback because theyre a fantastic way to create delicious home-cooked meals with very little effort. Fuss-free and incredibly energy efficient, theyre also the perfect way to make the most of cheap cuts of meat but dont think thats where their advantages end

From soups to sweet things and even pasta bakes slow cookers are as versatile as they are easy to use, which is why weve put together this book with more than just stews in mind. Weve taken 101 favourite Good Food recipes and adapted and tested them in our kitchen so theyll really work in your slow cooker, whatever you fancy eating. Plus, whether youre looking for a home-from-work supper that you throw together at breakfast time, a way to effortlessly entertain, or simply something tasty thatll look after itself while you get on with other things, youll find a wide variety from which to choose in this brilliant little book.

Not only will you discover recipes with a bit of a difference, such as our yummy hot chocolate , but youll also find all of the classics from chilli con carne to chicken casserole. Whatever youre after, youll get it here including all the slow-cooking tips weve picked up along the way.

So now all thats left is for you to plug in and get started. Slow cookers are back!

Sarah Cook
Good Food magazine

GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR SLOW COOKER

Every slow cooker is different, so make sure you keep your manufacturers manual handy when using it. However, here well share with you the Good Food teams top tips for slow cooking.

Lots of the recipes can be changed to fit in with your lifestyle, so follow your manuals guidelines on decreasing or increasing cooking times by changing the temperature of the slow cooker. However, weve found rice and pasta dishes really work best when cooked on High for the shortest time possible.

Always use easy-cook rice, if you can get it, and dont forget to rinse the rice well first. The more starch you can wash off the rice, the better the finished dish.

Slow cookers vary considerably in size, so weve written a variety of recipes, for a variety of portions. Many of these are easily halved or doubled check the individual recipes for recommendations.

If the sauce of a stew or a casserole is a little thin for your liking, mix 1 tablespoon cornflour to a paste with a splash of the sauce, then transfer to a pan with a ladleful of the sauce and bring to the boil to thicken. Stir back into the stew and repeat if need be.

If you want to adapt your own recipes to suit a slow cooker, look for something similar in this book and copy the timings but reduce the liquid in your original recipe by around a third.

NOTES ON THE RECIPES

Eggs are large in the UK and Australia and extra large in America unless stated.

Wash fresh produce before preparation.

Recipes contain nutritional analyses for sugar, which means the total sugar content including all natural sugars.

SPOON MEASURES

Spoon measurements are level unless otherwise specified.

1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5ml

1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 15ml

1 Australian tablespoon = 20ml (cooks in Australia should measure 3 teaspoons where 1 tablespoon is specified in a recipe)

APPROXIMATE LIQUID CONVERSIONS

APPROXIMATE WEIGHT CONVERSIONS

All the recipes in this book list both imperial and metric measurements. Conversions are approximate and have been rounded up or down. Follow one set of measurements only; do not mix.

Cup measurements, which are used in Australia and America, have not been listed here as they vary from ingredient to ingredient. Kitchen scales should be used to measure dry/solid ingredients.

Good Food is concerned about sustainable sourcing and animal welfare. Where possible, humanely reared meats, sustainably caught fish (see fishonline.org for further information from the Marine Conservation Society) and free-range chickens and eggs are used when recipes are originally tested.

Prepare this the night before and youll wake up to hot homemade baked beans, perfect with lots of buttered toast, plus bacon, sausages or fried eggs, if you wish.

TAKES 1011 HOURSSERVES 4, EASILY HALVED OR DOUBLED

2 tsp oil

2 onions, halved and thinly sliced

4 rashers streaky bacon, cut into large-ish pieces

2 tsp sugar (brown, if you have it)

2 400g cans chopped tomatoes

200ml/7fl oz stock from a cube

2 410g cans cannellini, butter or haricot beans in water, drained and rinsed

buttered toast, to serve