Tag: recipes

750g tinned whole fire-roasted tomatoes
100g mild chopped green chiles
1 red onion, finely diced
freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1 lime)
1/2 small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
1kg flank steak, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 cup uncooked rice
1 red bell pepper, chopped
For serving: tortilla chips, lime wedges, diced avocado, chopped lettuce, hot sauce

Drain the tomatoes into a slow cooker, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible.

In a food processor, chop the drained tomatoes, green chiles, onion, lime juice, coriander and 1 tsp of salt. Transfer 2/3 this salsa into the slow cooker. Refrigerate the remaining salsa until ready to serve.

Add the steak to the slow cooker and 250ml water. Sprinkle with the 1 tsp salt, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Stir, then cover and cook on the LOW setting for 3 hours.

Uncover; add the rice and bell pepper; and stir to combine, making sure that the rice is completely submerged. Cover and continue cooking on the LOW setting for 3 to 4 more hours.

Start checking the rice in the last hour of cooking, stirring occasionally to ensure the rice cooks evenly. Cooking is done when the rice is tender. If there is still liquid left in the slow cooker, uncover and cook on the HIGH setting for 5 to 10 minutes to let the liquid evaporate.

Serve burrito bowls with reserved salsa and desired toppings.

Non-exhaustive, but a good start.

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.

700g corn kernels drained if canned
1 small onion diced
45g / 3 tbsp butter
30g / 2 tbsp flour
8g / 2 tsp sugar
180ml / 0.75 cup heavy cream
300ml / 1.25 cup milk
salt & pepper to taste
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried

Combine onion and butter and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent.
Add flour, salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes while stirring. Add corn and mix well.
Add in milk, cream, sugar and thyme. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Allow to boil 1 minute while stirring.
Remove 1 cup of the corn mixture and blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Stir back into the creamed corn.
Taste and season with salt and pepper.

1.5kg lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
6 slices bacon
2 carrots, sliced
10-12 small pearl onions OR 1 small white onion, diced
300g mushrooms, sliced
500ml red wine, young and full-bodied (Pinot Noir or Gamay – Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
500ml beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
125ml tomato sauce
30g (1/4 cup) flour
salt and pepper
1/2 tspthyme
1 bay leaf
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. In a large dutch oven over medium high heat pot add the olive oil and bacon pieces. Cook until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon.
Salt and pepper the beef and add it to the pot and sear on each side for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the dutch oven.
Add the carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms and saute 2-3 minutes until tender. Remove and set aside.
Add the red wine to the skillet scraping down the sides and allow to deglaze. Add the beef stock, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and whisk in the flour.
Add the beef and the vegetables and bacon back to the pot and stir. Add thyme and bay leaf. Put a lid on pot and let it simmer in the oven for 1.5-2 hours until the beef is tender.

500g potatoes, cut into thin wedges or sliced
600g chicken breasts, cut into thick strips
2 medium onions, finely diced
A small bunch of fresh rosemary
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. grainy mustard
Juice of a large lemon
1 tbsp. olive oil
2-3 tbsp. honey
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 200C

In an oven-safe skillet, sautée the onions in olive oil over medium-high heat on the stove until softened and starting to brown.

Take off the heat and arrange your potato slices on top in an even layer. If you are using a normal skillet, transfer the onions to an oven-safe dish first then arrange the potatoes on top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cover loosely with foil and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until softened.

Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Take the pan out of the oven and arrange your raw chicken on top of the potatoes in an even layer. Pour the prepared sauce on top, making sure everything is coated. Throw a few sprigs of rosemary around the chicken, cover again with foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and roast in the oven for a further 15 minutes until nicely browned. Serve immediately.

NOTES
• If you find that the sauce is drying out during cooking, add a small amount of warm water (1/4-1/3 cup) to the pan shake to mix before returning it to the oven to prevent the bottom from burning.
• Try marinating the chicken in the sauce overnight for added flavour.