The beaver is a proud and noble animal

3 tbsp vegetable oil
900 g beef braising steak, cut into bite-size chunks
250g button mushrooms, sliced in half (or quartered, if bigger)
2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 brown onions peeled and diced
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp smoked paprika just use regular if you don’t have smoked
large pinch of salt and pepper
800 g canned chopped tomatoes in juice
500 ml hot beef stock (water plus 2 stock cubes is fine)
1 tbsp honey optional – this is just to neutralize some of the acidity from the tomatoes
225 ml sour cream

Dredge the beef in the flour, salt and pepper and fry in 2-3 batches until well-browned. Once browned, remove from the pan and place in the slow cooker.

Turn down the heat and place the onions in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring (try to scrape up a some of the brown bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat low to ensure it doesn’t burn). Add to the slow cooker, along with all the other ingredients (except the sour cream).

Cook on medium for 4-5 hours or low for 5-7 hours, then swirl the soured cream on top, sprinkle with parsley and serve with wide pasta, rice, egg noodles or creamy mashed potato.

600g canned diced tomatoes
400g canned crushed tomatoes or passata
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Cooking spray
650g frozen cheese ravioli (do not thaw)
450g grated mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)

Place the diced tomatoes and their juices, crushed tomatoes, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and vinegar together in a large bowl and stir to combine.

Coat slow cooker with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker. Scatter 1/3 of the ravioli evenly over the sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over the ravioli. Repeat the layers of sauce, ravioli, and cheese two more times. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cover and cook on the LOW setting until the sauce bubbles, the ravioli is heated through, and the cheese melts and browns, about 8 hours.

Notes:

– Traditional cheese ravioli makes for a classic lasagna, but with an abundance of ravioli varieties available in the market, you can make each meal different.

– Meat variation: Sautee 500g of ground beef, turkey, or sausage with 1 small diced onion on the stovetop over medium heat. Drain the fat and layer into the lasagna between the ravioli and cheese.

2 tbsp butter
8-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 3 chunks
1 large onion, chopped
thumb-sized piece ginger, finely grated or chopped
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
500ml passata
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp malt vinegar
1 tbsp light brown soft sugar
1 cinnamon stick

100ml sour cream
handful chopped coriander
cooked basmati rice, lime wedges and naan bread, to serve (optional)

Add all ingredients except for sour cream, rice, coriander and naan to slow cooker in the order they are listed above, mix well and cover with a lid. Cook on low for 5-7 hrs or on high for 4-5 hrs.

Add the cream and check the seasoning, adding more vinegar, sugar or salt if needed. Cook for another 10-15 mins until hot.

Ladle between bowls and garnish with the coriander. Serve with rice, naan bread and lime wedges, if you like.

Notes:
If you have time and want to kick the flavour up a notch, brown chicken, onions and spices in a pan before dumping into the slow cooker, then cook as normal.

1 tbsp sunflower oil
200g smoked streaky bacon, preferably in one piece, skinned and cut into chunks
900g cheap stewing lamb (diced shoulder, neck fillet, shank or breast – ask at your butcher counter), cut into large chunks
small bunch thyme
3 onions, thickly sliced
5 carrots, cut into big chunks
6 medium potatoes, cut into big chunks
700ml lamb stock
3 bay leaves
85g pearl barley
1 large leek, washed and cut into chunks
small knob of butter

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Sizzle the bacon until crisp, tip into the slow-cooker pot, then brown the chunks of lamb in the pan. Transfer to the slow-cooker pot along with the thyme, onions, carrots, potatoes, stock, bay leaves and enough water to cover the lamb. Cover and cook on Low for 7 hrs.

Stir in the pearl barley and leek, and cook on High for 1 hr more until the pearl barley is tender.

Stir in the butter, season and serve scooped straight from the dish.

1kg chuck or bottom round beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
50g (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
225g button mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 small yellow onion, diced
300ml low-sodium beef broth
2 tbsp soy sauce

225g dried egg noodles
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
250ml full-fat sour cream

Coat a 4.5L or larger slow cooker with cooking spray. Place the beef, flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and toss until the beef is evenly coated. Transfer the beef and any flour left in the bowl to the slow cooker. Add the mushrooms, onion, beef broth, and soy sauce, and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the beef is tender, 6 to 8 hours on the LOW setting, or 3 to 4 hours on the HIGH setting.

30 minutes before you are ready to eat, cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain, toss with the butter, and set aside.

Gradually and slowly stir the sour cream into the stroganoff. Serve over buttered noodles.

Notes:

– Tough cuts like chuck or bottom round beef are the best choices for braised meat stews like this stroganoff because they contain collagen. The collagen breaks down into gelatin over long periods of moist heat cooking. The result? Meltingly tender beef.

– Choose full-fat sour cream — reduced-fat or fat-free sour cream or even Greek yogurt are more likely to curdle.