Showing posts with label slow cooker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slow cooker. Show all posts

Monday, September 28, 2015

Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Last time I travelled to New York, I fell in love with plantains. Head over heels. In every guise that I ate them. I have spent the two years since mourning their absence in my life. Hopefully checking out tales of plantain sightings in Perth from the definite to the more vague. None were fruitful (ha!) Then one day a few weeks ago, I walked into The Nanna Shop, and there they were in all their (at the time) green glory. I bought some without thinking. Without concern that I’d never pay $7.99 a kilo for bananas or potatoes – but here I was paying that for plantains. I finally could relive some of the dishes I had loved whilst travelling. I started with simple tostones – twice fried plantain chips. Just as crispy and salty and delicious as I remembered! Then I did a bit of a search for more plantain recipes both online and in my Cuban and Peruvian cookbooks. I came across a Dominican recipe for plantain gnocchi with a beef short rib ragu on the Saveur website. Not much one for the price of beef ribs, I decided to use that recipe as a flavour guideline and mix it up a little to make my life much easier by switching to a slow cooked blade roast. So no removal of bones, no straining the vegetables out of the sauce, everything just cooked and eaten together. It also meant changing the plantain gnocchi with yuca flour to mashed plantains with white rice – skewing things a bit further to the Cuban style of serving. I’d love to experiment with a plantain gnocchi one day (although yuca flour is probably well out of the equation!)

The flavours here an big and punchy. The meat has a decent heat kick – feel free to add more or less cayenne depending on how hot you like things. There’s a subtle acidity from the vinegar and tomato paste, but it’s well tempered by the big beefy flavour and the creamy crème fraiche added just at the end. The plantains should be yellow, this means a slightly sweeter mash that has an almost limey brightness to it. The rice and tomato salsa are fairly standard additions, adding bulk, texture and freshness. I loved this meal. So much. The beef here then lasted for a subsequent 4 meals, including a hungover quesadilla morning for four.

And I was delighted to learn that they still had plantains on offer this weekend just gone, so I am restocked again. This time I bought enough that I might even be able to hold off until a few go black and try them that way!
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains

(barely adapted from Saveur)
2kg beef blade roast, fat layer removed and discarded
2 tbsp. rice bran oil
2 brown onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, diced
3 sweet paprika, diced (sub 1 red capsicum)
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp. cayenne
3 tbsp. tomato paste
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups beef stock
200mL crème fraiche
2 yellow plantains
White rice for serving
Tomato salsa (2 fresh tomatoes, 2 spring onions, handful of coriander and flat leaf parsley finely diced and tossed together)

Heat the base of your slow cooker to medium high and add a slick of oil. When the oil is hot, brown the blade roast on all sides, around 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions, stirring here and there until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, paprika and salt, and cook a further 10 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Stir through the smoked paprika, pepper, basil, thyme, cayenne and tomato paste. Add the vinegar and beef stock, stirring to pick up any bits stuck to the bottom.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then place the beef back in gently. Place inside the slow-cooker, cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is falling apart.

When the meat is ready, prepare the plantains. Without peeling, cut the plantains into cylinders around 4cm long. Place in a shallow glass bowl, add ¼ cup water cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes, or until the plantains are soft. Remove the peel, then mash the plantains with the water remaining in the bowl. Season with a little salt.

Shred the beef with two forks, then gently stir through the crème fraiche. Serve with plain white rice, tomato salsa and mashed plantains

Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo

Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo

When I was sitting and eating a bowl of my Beef, Pear and Red Wine Casserole, my mind wandered into how the cinnamon and red wine were like a mini-mulled wine with the beef. So naturally, my next thought was why not make a full-on mulled wine casserole? Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves all lend themselves to a hearty meat dish – as well as the wintery beverage. A lot of casseroles already use red wine as a flavouring component, why not go all the way and use a whole bottle? I know that you should  use decent quality wine to cook with, but when I’m using a whole bottle and adding a lot of other flavours to a dish, I’m not reaching for my best bottle. It just won’t be appreciated. My general rule is if you can’t drink it, don’t cook with it. There are a lot of good quality lower cost spectrum wines available, try a few out until you find one you like. Just make sure you drink a good quality wine with the dish! 


Kangaroo is a good meat to use for this dish as the wine and spices cut through the gameyness that can put people off. Adding the lentils makes it a one-pot meal. Meat and vege in one. Although I also served it with steamed sweet potato and sautéed kale with gorgonzola. That way I had leftovers to take to work! Whilst I am so ready for Spring, meals like this still make me appreciate the benefits of colder nights. It won’t be long til it’ll be nothing but BBQs and salads.


Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo
Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo


Mulled Wine Kangaroo


500g diced kangaroo
1 red onion, diced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp rosemary leaves, minced
Juice and peel of one lemon
2 sticks cinnamon
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup beef stock
750mL bottle of red wine (something with oomph like a Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon)
2 carrots, cut into 2cm dice
1 cup de Puy lentils


Heat some olive oil in the base of your slow cooker up to a medium high heat and brown the kangaroo pieces, around 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate, cover and keep warm.


Turn the heat down to low and cook the red onion until translucent, around 5 minutes, then add the garlic cloves and rosemary. Stir and continue cooking 10 minutes until the onions start caramelising. Stir through the carrot and cook until it softens, 5 minutes. 

Add the lemon juice and scrape up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the stock, wine, sugar, spices and peel. Bring to the boil and add the kangaroo and lentils. Place into your slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours, alternatively, just reduce the heat back to low, place the lid on and simmer for 45minutes to an hour, or the lentils are soft and the meat is tender and pulling apart.


Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo
 Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo
Slow Cooker Love - Mulled Wine Kangaroo

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco


Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco

Where do you stand on bone marrow? I know it tends to be a fairly divisive kind of food. Personally, I love it. Sucking the marrow out of the shank on a lamb roast is one of life’s joys (that I have to take turns with Lance on). It’s so rich and delicious. If you have a family that requires sharing the marrow, osso bucco is a perfect way of everybody getting some bone marrow, without forking out for just marrow bones and paying just for the bones. Osso Bucco is generally a fairly cheap cut of meat, as quite a few of the slow-cook meats are, but it is so delicious.


Traditionally, osso bucco is cooked in Italian style flavourings. Tomato and oregano and garlic. This dish is a little different in that it uses Asian style spices instead. It’s a bit sweet, a bit spicy and still totally rich and soul-satisfying in the way that all good casseroles should be. This is a prep and forget kind of dish, once you’ve got everything in the pot, it can be left alone to cook itself. Don’t let the longish list of ingredients put you off, they’re mainly flavouring ingredients that just get stirred together. The coriander gremolata adds a fresh hit against the richness. I wouldn't skip this. I've added a recipe for orange braised kale that goes well, but isn't necessary for the dish.


If you don’t like bone marrow, you can remove the bones and shred the meat into the sauce before serving. I did this for a dinner party and then Lance and I stood over the kitchen island and sucked out the bones.


I’ve also made this exact dish with a large cubed sweet potato in place of the mushrooms. Also worth doing.

 Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco
Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco


Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco

Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco


Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco

4 osso bucco
2-3 tbsp coconut flour (can sub cornflour)
Olive oil
½ cup rice vinegar
½ cup honey
½ cup rice wine (from Asian grocers)
1 ½ tbsp. five spice
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 red chili, finely minced
1 tbsp salt
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce
500mL water
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 capsicum, diced
300-400g button mushrooms, quartered.
Steamed brown rice


Coriander Gremolata
1 bunch coriander
2 tbsp hazelnut meal
Zest one orange

Preheat the oven to 150C


Season the osso bucco with salt and pepper, then dust in coconut flour. In the base of a lidded casserole or tagine that can go on the stove and in the oven, heat a layer of oil to medium high heat. Brown the osso bucco on both sides – around 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.


Add the onion to the same pot and cook the onion for 10 minutes, stirring often until caramelised. Add the garlic and capsicum and cook another 5 minutes, until the capsicum has softened. In a bowl, whisk together the rice wine, rice wine vinegar, five spice powder, ground ginger, oyster sauce, chilli, salt, sugar and water. Add this liquid to the pot and turn the heat up to high. Bring to the boil, then add the osso bucco back to the pot. Scatter the mushrooms around the osso bucco in the casserole. Add the lid, then put it in the oven and cook for 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone.


Meanwhile, pulse the coriander, hazelnut meal and orange zest in a processor, then put in a container in the fridge until ready to serve.


Remove the meat to a plate and cover to keep warm. Put the casserole back on the stove top and simmer the sauce on medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced by half and is syrupy. Serve each osso bucco with some freshly steamed brown rice and a generous ladle of the sauce. Sprinkle the gremolata on the top.


Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco
Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco


Orange Braised Kale

1 orange, peeled and segmented
Juice one orange
¼ cup stock
2 tbsp butter
1 Tuscan Kale bunch


Cut the leaves off the ribs on the kale, then shred. Heat the butter in a frypan over a medium-low , then add all other ingredients and stir well. Cook, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the kale is soft, and the liquid has reduced to almost nothing.


Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco
Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco
Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco
Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco
Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco
Slow Cooker Love - Chinese 5 Spice Osso Bucco


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu

Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu

I love slow-cooking in this weather. Especially meat. The flavours of slow-cooked meat are incredible, as is the ease and versatility of cooking a big hunk of meat. My go-to meat for slow cooking is pork. But when I saw a recipe for Italian pulled pork sandwiches I thought that a leg of lamb would suit the flavours so much better. And wondered why I hadn’t done it before. Slow cooked Italian lamb. Perfect, right? Having a weekend of baking for my brother’s Cake Club and having my parents over for dinner the same day was the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I’ve used the herbs that I add to my usual bolognaise sauce, and used tomato in the braising liquid to give it a real Italian richness.

In the morning I rubbed the meat with the herb mix, browned the meat, then left it to do it’s thing while the oven was full of biscuits. The cooling/skimming the fat step is fairly crucial, seeing as a lamb leg is quite a fatty cut.

The end result is a rich, meaty dish. A dish that warms you the whole way through. A dish that leaves you satisfied but still wanting more. Wanting a chunk of bread to clean the bowl with. A dish that serves five big eaters, with leftover lamb for Lance and I for the next two days – realistically it could have done 3 nights if it wasn’t so delicious! Sometimes that can be the best part of slow-cooked food. The leftovers make brilliant sandwich or taco filling, or poured over more pasta or couscous or your other favourite grain.

Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu

Lamb Ragu

3 tbsp. ground fennel seeds
3 tbsp. dried parsley
2 tbsp dried oregano

1 tbsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp salt
3 tsp. red chilli flakes
1 lamb leg – approx 2kg
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tins crushed tomatoes

2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 (generous) cup red wine
1 brown onion, diced

2 tsp sugar
pasta to serve


Combine fennel seeds, parsley, oregano, thyme, basil, chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Cut a long line down the lamb leg to open it up. Rub the inside with the herb mixture, then half of the minced garlic. Pull back together. Rub the entire outside with a generous amount of the herb mix, you might not need all of it.

Heat the base of your slow cooker (or a pan if your insert can’t be heated) to medium high heat and generously coat the bottom with olive oil. Brown the lamb on all sides. 5-10 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. Add the onion, remaining garlic and 1 tin of the crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker base and cook for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are reduced by about half and caramelized.

Add the stock, water and wine. Mix well then add the lamb back to the base.

Put into your slow cooker and cover. Cook on high for 5 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone.

Transfer the lamb to a tray and shred with two forks, removing the skin, bones and as much fat as you can. Set the meat aside. Allow the cooking liquid to cool and then skim the fat off the top of it.

When ready to serve, prepare your pasta as per cooking instructions. Put the cooking liquid back on the stove top over medium heat. Add the second tin of crushed tomatoes, half fill the tin with water to rinse it out and add that to the sauce. Add sugar and mix well. Bring to the boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce is reduced by a quarter. Add the shredded meat back in and stir well.

Serve with freshly cooked pasta and a side salad

Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu
Slow Cooker Love - Lamb Ragu

Monday, June 23, 2014

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

There’s a quote from a butcher in the Recipes and Ramblings 2 Cookbook that states “slow cooking is a path to someone's heart”. I couldn’t agree more. And neither could Lance. If he had his way, there would always be pulled pork in the house for when he wants it. Which is always. He’s even taken to looking at the ads when he reads the newspaper and comes home with legs of pork when they’re on special for me to cook.

The most common way I do it is Puerco Pibil, but for something a bit different and a bit subtler in flavour, I thought I would braise it in cider. Pork and apples is a classic combination, but for this batch I used one of Rekorderlig’s flavoured ciders – Apricot and Peach. Partly because I thought it’d go really well with the pork. Partly because I had a bottle left in the fridge. Sage and mustard seeds round out the flavours.

Because it’s a subtler flavour, it lends itself to being eaten in so many different ways. Either simply, or dressed right up with extra flavours.

The first night we ate this with steam buns which I made using the Momofuku recipe (but feel free to buy frozen ones from your local Asian grocer). Then we ate it with waffles and eggs for breakfast. Then in Kaiser buns with hickory BBQ sauce and coleslaw. Then we ate the remainder in tacos with mandarin segments fresh from our tree.



Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork

Cider Braised Pork

1 tbsp sage
3 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp mustard seeds
500mL cider (such as Rekorderlig Apricot and Peach)
2 dried bay leaves
1 pork leg roast

Carefully cut the skin and fat layer off the bottom of the pork leg with a very sharp knife. Discard. (Or if making your own steam buns, put the skin in a frypan on medium high heat to render the fat out).

Mix the sage, salt, pepper and mustard seeds together, and rub generously all over the pork leg. You may not need it all. Leave for an hour or so. Place in the base of your slow cooker, pour 400mL of the cider over the leg and add the bay leaves. Cover and cook on high for around 4-5 hours, or until the pork is falling off the bone. Remove the bay leaves

Peel the skin off the top of the roast, and remove the bones. Using two forks, shred the pork. I usually do this in the base of the slow cooker in the cooking juices still but if you want you can pull it out, shred it and put it back in the juices. Mix through the liquid and cook for a further 20 minutes or so to soak up these juices and make the pork super moist.

When ready to serve, pour the remaining 100mL of cider into a small saucepan and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes until reduced and syrupy.

Serve pork with the reduced cider drizzled over the top, either in steamed buns, or normal bread buns with you choice of accompaniments, such as coleslaw or pickled beetroot and onions

Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork
Slow Cooker Love - Cider Braised Pork