200 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes

25g (1oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Remove the slow cooker dish from the base and rub the butter generously over the inside of the dish. Turn the slow cooker base (without the dish in it) on to high to preheat.

Warm the olive oil in large frying pan over a high heat. When very hot, add the mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden. Add the pasta sauce to the pan. Fill the jar a third full with cold water and rinse out the contents into the pan. Add the ham and mix well.

Spread about 4 tablespoons of the mushroom sauce over the base of the slow cooker dish. Top with 3 sheets of the lasagne, about a third of the remaining sauce and a third of the cheeses. Repeat this process twice more but do not cover with the final layer of cheese (the top layer should be the mushroom sauce). Insert the dish carefully into the preheated slow cooker base, cover with the lid and cook on low for 4–6 hours or until the pasta is tender when tested with the tip of a knife.

Once cooked, remove the lid and sprinkle over the reserved cheese. Leave uncovered for about 10–15 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Serve with a dressed green salad.

SPICED LAMB PILAF

This Moroccan-inspired pilaf is fantastic – fragrant and spicy with plenty of different textures and tons of flavour. Most importantly, the slow cooking leaves the lamb neck irresistibly tender.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 8½–9½ hours

Serves 4

½ tbsp olive oil

500g (1lb 2oz) lamb neck fillet, cut into 3cm (1¼in) pieces

2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced

½ tsp dried red chilli flakes

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

50g (2oz) pine nuts

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

400ml (14fl oz) white wine

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g (7oz) basmati rice

Warm half of the oil in a frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add the lamb and cook until browned on all sides. Spoon into the slow cooker dish.

Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining oil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, chilli, garlic, pine nuts, coriander, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon and cook for about 5 minutes or until the spices are wonderfully aromatic and the onion is softened. Reduce the heat during cooking if the spices or pine nuts start to burn.

Add the wine to the pan and mix well. Bring to the boil, then pour this over the lamb. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 8–9 hours.

When you get back from work or 30 minutes before you want to eat, place the rice in a sieve. Pour a kettle full of freshly boiled water over the rice and drain. Fold the wet rice into the lamb mixture.

Cover with the lid again and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the cooking liquid. Season to taste.

PROPER BOLOGNESE

Our friend Neil lived and worked in Italy for a while, and as a result makes the best bolognese ever! Here’s my version, using some of his top tips, and a few of my own ideas, to make a slow cooker ‘spag bol’ that I hope he will love.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 8¼–10¼ hours

Serves 6

2 tbsp olive oil

250g (9oz) pancetta or streaky bacon, cut into cubes

1kg (2lb 4oz) coarse ground beef mince

250ml (9fl oz) red wine

2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

500g (1lb 2oz) onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 celery sticks, trimmed and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 x 400g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes

250ml (9fl oz) tomato passata

1 beef stock cube, crumbled

2 bay leaves, broken

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add the pancetta or bacon and cook for 2–3 minutes or until it becomes opaque. Add the mince in batches and cook for 5–10 minutes or until browned, spooning the cooked batches into the slow cooker dish with a slotted spoon as it cooks.

Return the pan to the heat and add the wine. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to scrape any tasty bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour into the slow cooker. Add the garlic, onions, celery, carrot, tomatoes, passata, stock cube and bay leaves to the mince and mix well. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 8–10 hours or until thick and rich.