200 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes

200 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes
Katie Bishop

An updated edition, with more finished food photos, of the bestselling slow cooker books by Katie Bishop.Slow cookers offer a hassle-free approach to home cooking. This new edition includes over 200 mouth-watering recipes that can be prepared in advance and cooked while you're at work, overnight or just relaxing at home.More and more people are discovering the benefits these affordable cookers – they are economical, environmental and produce perfect results every time.Cookery writer and journalist, Katie Bishop, shows just how little effort is required to make great family recipes such as Rolled Shoulder of Lamb, Mini Chestnut, Mushroom and Red Wine Pies, Classic Bouillabaisse, Herby Italian Stuffed Peppers and Oat, Sunflower and Honey Bread.This book provides a fresh insight into this old-fashioned method of cooking, with straightforward, easy-to-achieve dishes that will delight your friends and family.Katie’s fresh ideas, helpful advice on making the most of your cooker and easy-to-follow recipes provide new inspiration for anyone who wants to produce perfect meals every time.Enjoy:• Soups and light meals• Chillis and pasta sauces• Curries and spicy dishes• Braises and stews• ‘Roasts’• Super-slow food• Feasts and celebrations• Puddings, cakes and sweet sauces

CONTENTS

Cover (#u4f6efc75-08fb-5d85-a79f-750310594f6c)

Title Page (#ud26ec138-6d04-5b83-b2f3-535bfac5b41d)

Introduction

Soups, Salads and Light Meals

Pasta, Rice and Grains

Chillies, Curries and Spicy Food

Braises, Stews and Other Comfort Food

Roasts

Special Occasions (#litres_trial_promo)

Sauces, Chutneys and Jams

Puddings and Cakes

List of Recipes (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author & Acknowledgements

Copyright

About the Publisher

INTRODUCTION (#u758f2587-aa42-55dd-bd70-8eaf58c2b7ce)

This book is designed to be really simple to use. If you fancy a curry or something spicy then look in the curries section, or maybe rich braises and stews are the reason you have a slow cooker in your kitchen, so take a look at that chapter. In my kitchen my slow cookers (cookers are plural because at the last count I had eight!) are a godsend for midweek meals, but particularly when entertaining.

This book is intended to complement a busy lifestyle, providing ideas for slow-cooked food for busy people. All the recipes have been written with the time-conscious in mind, for those who like good-quality (and that doesn’t mean expensive!), great tasting food, but may not necessarily have hours in which to prepare it. There are also recipes for those with the inclination to do a little more advance preparation, and those who would rather throw it all into a pot and forget about it! Either way, as working late and/or lengthy socialising become the norm, you can feel confident that slow-cooked food can, in the majority of cases, be left happily for longer than the designated cooking time without spoiling, overcooking or burning.

The 200 unbelievably tasty, gorgeous and sumptuous dishes within this book will, I hope, convince you that over a long period of time some ingredients evolve into something even more spectacular than would be achieved with conventional cooking, often with significantly less time-consuming attention and hassle.

I love to have large gatherings and parties, and it is at these times I could not live without a slow cooker. Entertaining for a large number has never been easier, so if that’s your thing, you’ll also find a chapter for special occasions and celebrations. There are also yummy chapters on roasts, light and easy dishes, chillies and pasta sauces as well as puddings and cakes. So, whatever your penchant and requirements, whether after-work suppers or make-ahead meals for those days when you just don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, there should be a chapter for you!

Either way, I hope you enjoy the recipes. They have all been lovingly and very thoroughly tested. As mentioned earlier, do continue to bear in mind that every slow cooker is different and yours may be a different size from that used in this book, so times will vary accordingly. I’m sure you’ll soon get to know and love your machine and be able to adapt all the recipes with ease. Treat your slow cooker well and it will be a faithful companion for many years to come!

(Previous image) Rolled shoulder of lamb with cumin and harissa (see full recipe here (#litres_trial_promo))

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VEGETABLE FRITTATA

A simple fresh vegetable frittata looks wonderfully colourful and is a great way to use up seasonal vegetables in the summer months.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 2½–3 hours

Serves 6

3 peppers (preferably mixed colours), deseeded and cut into chunks

1 medium courgette, trimmed and cut into chunks

1 medium aubergine, trimmed and cut into chunks

1 red onion, peeled and cut into chunks

12 cherry tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

12 new potatoes, washed and cut into quarters

3 fresh thyme sprigs

2 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 eggs

10 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Place the peppers, courgette, aubergine and onion in the slow cooker dish and scatter the cherry tomatoes, garlic, new potatoes and thyme over the top.

Drizzle with the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon until all the vegetables are coated in the oil. Cover with the lid and cook on high, stirring occasionally, for 1½–2 hours or until tender. Remove the thyme and discard.

Whisk the eggs and half of the Parmesan cheese together in a bowl. Season generously, then pour the mixture over the vegetables. Replace the lid and cook for a further hour or until just set.

Remove from the slow cooker base and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Run a knife around the edge of the frittata to loosen, then leave to cool, uncovered, for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges or squares to serve.

AUBERGINE AND CARDAMOM BABA GANOUSH

Baba ganoush is great as a dip with crudités or as part of a more substantial meal with mezze and pitta bread. In this version, cardamom gives the aubergine a sweet and fragrant flavour.

Preparation time: 15 minutes