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Recipes
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Written by Theresa
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Monday, 19 November 2007 19:00 |
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I have been engaged in developing recipes for the slow cooker and can’t imagine why this isn’t a central piece of gear in every kitchen. It doesn’t take much to load it up with veggies and a hunk 0 some kind of meat and let ‘er cook. Coming home to the comfort of food at the end of the day rather than the prospect of creating it is way better!
Here are some caveats…
1. Slow cookers don’t evaporate like stovetop or oven methods so reduce the juice.
2. Because they don’t evaporate, they don’t caramelize sugars, which is what develops the flavors. Many recipes replace this fact with salt and fat in the form of canned soups. Salt being the “silent killer” lets try to avoid this. You want to bulk up on dried herbs and garlic. Here’s how:
Roast an entire bud of garlic right in the pot and squeeze its softness into the jus before serving. Now you have replaced the salt with cold fighting, antibacterial, way yummy garlic.
3. Place 2 pounds of your meat of choice… turkey breast, pork tenderloin, beef eye of round on top of a raft 3 inch pieces of your fav root veggies…carrots, parsnips, turnip, rutabaga and sprinkle with a dried herb that works. (Sage for poultry, thyme for pork and rosemary for beef) Top with a head of garlic as above.
4. The other thing missing with the lack of evaporation is the color. Sprinkle all meats with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce just before you close the lid. This will fake a tan.
Truly a monkey could do it.
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