Day 38 - Pot Luck

Having been spectacularly bad this week at creating much from scratch I decided to make sure I did just that today. Gerry was at work until around 8pm so I had plenty of time to get the brain cells up and running after I hit the gym for a couple of hours. A mini boast here as I completed a 5k run in just over 30mins, 6 mins off my PB!

Anyway, on entering my flat after the gym I was hit by the smell of roasting chicken from another flat and since it was Sunday I decided to follow suit. I fired up the slow cooker and started to lightly brown a 1.5kg chicken in a tablespoon of olive oil for around 10 mins. This then went breast-side down in the slow cooker.  Next I added a large onion cut into 6 wedges to the pan with the remaining oil and cooked these until they just started to brown. I then added 500ml of dry cider, 3 tsp Dijon mustard and 2 tsp caster sugar. I brought the whole lot up to the boil, stirring continuously.

I then poured the liquid mixture into the slow cooker over the chicken, along with 700ml of chicken stock and 3 celery sticks, 3 carrots all roughly chopped. I also added 6 wedges of lemon and 2 tsp dried thyme. I made sure the vegetables and chicken were submerged below the level of the liquid to ensure they would all cook through evenly and thoroughly.

The lid then went on for around 5 hours on High. I was a little concerned about the volume of liquid since it was perilously near the top of the crock pot but luckily it didn't bubble over. Once it was cooked I lifted out the chicken and set aside on a plate. I then drained the liquid into a large dish, removing the vegetables with a slotted spoon to serve on the side. I made a gravy out of some of the stock, adding potato starch to thicken it up slightly and 1 heaped tsp chicken gravy granules. I also accompanied it with roast potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Pot-Roasted Chicken with Lemon

The end result was bloody fantastic. The chicken simply fell off the bone and the flavour of lemon, cider and thyme has really infused in the meat. It was the best roast I've done in quite some time and with minimal fuss. It was also so easy to pick the chicken from the bones for lunches in the week and I froze the chicken liquid as stock cubes for future use.  I highly recommend this method!

Day 31 - I Can 'Adobo' a Bit of That

Today, after a mammoth gym session and a longer than expected trip to B&Q with my sis A, which involved a quick tour around NW London (we did not get lost...we meant to go that way...), I rushed home to begin my next culinary quest with my slow cooker.  I'm thinking I should name it but is it a boy or a girl slow cooker... such decisions to be made when I am next bored on the tube perhaps.

Anyway, I digress, let's get back on track and what I chose to create for dinner this evening. Gerry is half Filipino and in a nod to her culture I decided to whip up a batch of Beef Adobo. It is the first Filipino dish I have created in the many years we have been together, not least because she and her family make such good food, so I feel I have a lot to live up to! I followed a recipe from my Hamlyn Slow Cooker Recipe Book, which I highly recommend if anyone needs inspiration for their slow cooking.

The below makes enough for 4 servings, half of which I froze for later in the week.

1. I started by browning 700g braising steak in 1 tbsp of oil.  I added it in batches so not to overwhelm the pan and to allow the beef to brown rather than boil together. I then removed it to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside. 
2. I took a large onion, sliced, and added it to the pan cooking for around 3mins until it just started to brown. I then added a finely chopped garlic clove to the pan for 2mins before adding 2 tbsp of plain flour and mixed together.
3. Finally I added 450ml of beef stock to the pan, 4 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper and brought it all up to the boil.
4. I added the meat to the slow cooker and poured the stock and onion mixture over the top, making sure all the meat was submerged below the level of the liquid. This was then cooked on high for around 6 hours. If I'd had more time I would have cooked it on low for 8 hours but careering around London took a little more time than I expected!
5. Just before serving I chopped 3 small carrots into thin batons and shredded 3 spring onions to garnish the dish.
6. Finally I mixed in the juice of 1/2 lime to the portions of beef I was serving tonight before spooning it over the top of freshly steamed jasmine rice. 

Hapunan ay Nagsilbi. Kumain na!

So what were the scores on the board from Gerry? '10 out of 10' and 'very authentic'! Brilliant. I was very pleased with the result, the meat was melt in the mouth and the sauce was deliciously rich with the tang of the lime just coming through.  Again, something to store in my slow cooker arsenal!

Beef Adobo

Day 29 - Friday Night Curry

I decided to give my slow cooker another bash today after yesterday's slightly disappointing affair. Gerry had been through my recipe book and noted that she quite fancied a curry and since it was after all a Friday night I thought it was a good plan. I checked the cupboards and found I had just the right ingredients for a Kashmiri Butter Chicken.  There was a little bit of prep involved before I could add it into the slow cooker so I got cracking.

• First up, I roughly chopped 2 onions, 4cm of peeled fresh ginger, 3 garlic cloves and a quarter of a green chilli (seeds removed).  This was all whizzed up in a food processor until it made a fairly smooth paste. 
• I then chopped up 3 chicken breasts into bite size chunks, not too small though as I didn't want them to break away into nothing. I heated 1tbsp of groundnut oil in a wok and cooked the chicken pieces over a high heat until they were all nicely browned.  These were then drained and set aside on a plate. 
• Next I added 1oz (25g) butter into the wok and cooked the onion paste over a medium heat until it just started to colour. I then removed it from the heat briefly while I stirred in a symphony of spices - 1tsp crushed cumin seeds, 1tsp crushed fennel seeds, 4 crushed cardamom pods, 1tsp paprika, 1/4tsp ground cinnamon, 1tsp turmeric, 1tsp garam masala, 1/4tsp mild chilli powder and a few red chilli flakes. 

Spice Selection

• This mixture was cooked for a further minute until the final ingredients of 1/2pint chicken stock, 2tbsp tomato puree and 1tbsp brown sugar were added and brought to the boil, stirring all the time.
• I transferred the chicken to the slow cooker and poured the onion mixture and sauce over the top, making sure all the chicken pieces were below the surface of the liquid. I popped the lid on and cooked on low for just over 5 hours.
• Ten minutes before plating up I steamed some fine green beans and basmati rice to serve with it. 
• Finally, just before serving, I added in 2tbsp of half-fat creme fraiche to the curry to give it a nice golden appearance.  I garnished with some finely sliced spring onions and had intended to toast some flaked almonds to top it all off but promptly forgot! 

Dinner was served and my oh my, the second slow cooker attempt was so much better than the first! It was creamy with just the right amount of spice and it had a deliciously silky texture. Also, the quantity of ingredients I had used was enough for 4 people so half of it will go in the freezer for another time, which is certainly something to look forward to. Gerry said it's a definite keeper.  However, next time I would make one slight change and use boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I think it would withstand the longer cooking process better than breast and because it's simply a cut with more flavour. However, I used what I had and it still turned out brilliantly!  I'm a happy little cook tonight.

Kashmiri Butter Chicken

Kashmiri Curry & Rice

Day 28 - Salads & Slow Cooker Experiments

Today I visited my good friend, Crummy Mummy and her new baby. Even though I saw her quite recently, the little girl is growing so quickly and she is still the cutest thing in the world. Since it was such lovely weather we took advantage and went for a lovely long walk by the canal before going home and fixing a feast for lunch.

Crummy Mummy actually picked out a recipe which I love and have made once before, great minds think alike it seems!  She actually put a nice twist on it though as the original is quite a summery salad, whereas she made it a more comforting winter warmer.  It was a Warm Lentil, Roasted Vegetable & Halloumi Salad.

First, we chopped up a selection of fresh vegetables to roast including; one aubergine, cubed, one onion, chopped into wedges, one red pepper, roughly cut, and several halved cherry tomatoes.  These went in the oven with a good splash of olive oil at around 225C for around 30mins.  If we'd had more time we could have left them for longer at a lower temperature but with the wonders of fan cooking they were nicely tender when we took them out. Meanwhile, we simmered the green lentils for around 20mins until tender.  Next she made a quick dressing from a couple of crushed garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive oil and tossed the cubed halloumi in it, before giving it a quick sizzle in the frying pan until just soft.  Finally everything was assembled on the plate and served with a dollop of houmous to make it all slip down that little bit better. Perfect. No picture unfortunately as I practically inhaled it. Fresh air certainly gives me an appetite! It was a really lovely way to spend an afternoon, I love getting out of the city and nothing is better than whiling away the time with a good friend, who puts on awesome grub!

I planned out what to make for dinner that evening on the train home. I recently acquired myself a slow cooker and was very much looking forward to trying it out for the first time. I had left it a little late though, getting in at almost 5pm, so opted for something that I could still prepare in the slow cooker but required a shorter cooking time.  A risotto seemed like my best bet and since I'm not a big fan of the whole 'adding stock' process to stove prepared risottos (because it can be pretty laborious) I was keen to see if this method would work just as well.

I chose a simple green bean and pea risotto with the intention of serving with a pan fried salmon fillet.  The prep was pretty simple; 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp olive oil and one chopped onion went in a saucepan for a few minutes to soften. Then 200g arborio rice was added for 1 minute, followed by 2 litres of stock, bringing everything up to the boil.  Then it was just a case of pouring it all into the slow cooker and letting it do its thing for the next couple of hours on a low setting.  Once time was up I added 2 tsps of basil pesto and lay the frozen peas and green beans just on top of the rice.  This was then cooked for a further 15mins on a high setting.  It was served topped with the salmon fillet, which I'd pan fried for around 7 mins.

The end result? Well, maybe it was my ratio of water to rice, I didn't have quite enough rice for the amount of stock that I used but having read the slow cooker instructions it said to make sure the crock pot was at least half full, therefore I dutifully obeyed.  However, I think given its slightly mushy consistency there was too much liquid.  Also, although I'd added pesto and then another on serving it all tasted rather bland.  It wasn't really a patch on my normal risotto that I make on the stove.  Still lesson learnt and I will attempt another purely because I do love the fact I can sit back and let it do its thing while I busy myself with important duties such as TV watching. I think my slow cooker and I will become firm friends.

Green Bean & Pea Risotto