[food] Three slow-cooking recipes

[chanaleh]

So, I have this fleishig crockpot. :-)

Which is to say: muffyjo was brainstorming last week about recipes and food planning, which reminded me that I am overdue in posting some of the awesome things I've done with this useful little (5.5qt? something over a gallon) appliance. So here are three.


DUCK IN SLOW COOKER
Adapted from http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1626,151178-245202,00.html

* one 4-5 lb. whole duck, thawed
* 10 oz (1 pkg) whole mushrooms
* 1/2 lb baby carrots
* 2 c. water
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. pepper
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/2 tsp. thyme
* 1 onion
* 1/2 c. wine

Put all ingredients in slow cooker and set on low for several hours or overnight.

Serve with a spoon... no joke, and it was that good. Plus, once all the obvious meat and bones have been picked out, the sludgy-brothy-mushroomy stuff left over in the bottom turns into a lovely sort of terrine de canard when chilled...


CROCKPOT LAMB STEW
Adapted from http://southernfood.about.com/od/lambstewrecipes/r/bl115c11.htm

* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1/2 cup red wine
* ~1 lb baby carrots (adding another 1/2 lb later)
* ~1 c frozen peas
* 10 oz whole mushrooms
* 1 large onion, thinly sliced
* 3-4 medium potatoes, diced (I used Yukon Gold)
* ~3 pounds bony lamb pieces (I had about 1 lb each of neck pieces, ribs, and... shoulder chops?)
* herbs (I reeeeeally wanted oregano and rosemary, but all I had on hand was thyme)
* salt and pepper

Threw everything in pot: bottom layer of potatoes and 1/2 onion, then lamb pieces, then remaining veg, then spices, then pour over liquids. Cooked on High from about 9am to 4pm.

Turned to Low. Stirred up, picked out most of the obvious bones (returning any meat gleaned from bones back to pot). Added whatever remaining veg would not fit in the initial pass. (Edited to add: Oh yeah, at this point I also pulled out about a cup of the broth and whisked a heaping tablespoon of flour into it, then stirred it back into the pot to thicken.) Left on Low until served at around 8:30pm.


REVITHIA STO FOURNO (OVEN-COOKED CHICKPEAS)
A.k.a. Magic Chickpeas, a.k.a. Six-Hour Chickpeas. And totally worth that amount of planning ahead.
Adapted from http://graphics.boston.com/globe/magazine/2-4/food.shtml

* 1 lb. dried chickpeas
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup olive oil (reduced from original 2/3)
* 2 cups coarsely chopped onions
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
* 2 bay leaves, crumbled
* 1 to 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper or a pinch of crushed red pepper
* 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
* Black pepper, to taste

Starting the night before (!), soak the chickpeas overnight in a large bowl of water (in the fridge). When you are ready to start, drain the water off and toss the chickpeas with the salt.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium flameproof casserole*, heat the oil and cook the onions over medium heat for 4 minutes or until they are soft. Stir in chickpeas, oregano, bay leaves, pepper, and stock. Bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Press a double thickness of foil directly on the chickpeas, then cover with the lid.

*I don't at present have a flameproof casserole, so I do all this in a large skillet and then pour it into my regular 2.5-qt Pyrex casserole with lid. The foil liner under the lid is important, though.

Once the dish is in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees and cook for 6 hours or until chickpeas are very tender. Taste for seasoning, add black pepper, and serve.

Comments

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

The foil liner under the lid is important, though.

Why? I don't have an appropriate pot with a lid, so I'd presumably try this with just a foil cover. What does the foil-and-lid combination do?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

I think the heaviness of the lid is preferable, and the tinfoil creates a tighter seal, keeping the steam pressure up.

I could, of course, just be Making Shit Up. :-} Maybe I'll try it both ways at once next time and see -- a baking dish with just a foil cover, and my casserole dish with foil and lid!

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Double the chickpeas...for SCIENCE!

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Do you have a good recipe for cholent in the crockpot?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

I've actually never made cholent, but my friend Barbara the caterer has a recipe for the vegetarian cholent they make at our shul (in crockpots) which I personally adore... lots of beans and barley. (Admittedly it's a bit oily, but cholent is supposed to be rich and heavy, anyway. :-) She was supposed to send me the recipe, I'll ask her and pass it along if you're interested!

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, I do like the meat part, but sure!

[lyriendel.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm. I may have to dig out my slow cooker and try the duck or lamb sometime.

[heliopsis.livejournal.com]

Thanks especially for the chickpea recipe! I've wanted to do it ever since I had it at your shabbat dinner a year ago.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Testify, brother! :-D Great, I'm glad.

[(Anonymous)]

the chickpeas look yummy - greg

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

mmmmm chickpea stew. I make a quicker version with canned tomatoes sometimes.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, no. Not the same at all. :-} I mean, yes, I often do the same for a quick "combine can of beans with can of tomatoes" thing. And chickpeas are nice no matter what you do with them. But this dish is completely transformative: different flavor, different texture. Mmmmm.

[c1.livejournal.com]

So, I have this fleishig crockpot.
I don't know how it happened, but after reading that, I got soylent green stuck in my head: I'm positive you're not thinking of that as an ingredient. Nonetheless, I'm glad I'm vegetarian. :)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Having clicked on the link to be sure of what it was, I've been thinking "Wait, then the last recipe doesn't work if you use vegetable stock!"

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah -- actually I've only ever made it with veg stock, because it's such a good vegetarian (in fact, vegan) entree!

Things that contain neither meat NOR dairy ingredients are known as "pareve" (pronounced PAR-uh-vuh, or just "parv"), i.e. neutral, and may safely be cooked on equipment of either polarity, meat or dairy. Normally I do make this in a casserole dish for dairy meals and not in the (meat) crockpot at all. :-)

I should have you guys over sometime and you can get the Great Color-Coded Kosher Kitchen Tour!

[mercurysparkle.livejournal.com]

I just bought that little red crock pot in the picture (on sale, with coupon, at Target for $12.00!!!) We have a new one, but it's not yet been treif-ed. The red one is going to be used over the winter/until we move and have a kosher kitchen.

Is your crockpot a "new" one (i.e within the last year or so)? There seems to be a heating difference between the old ones (1970s) and now. The new ones are sooooo much hotter I have to keep adjusting recipes.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

I got mine a couple years ago, but it's the same model as shown. No idea how it compares to the *old* ones. :-}

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Wait, do you need *three* dishes, one for milchig, one for fleishig, one for treif?

(Er, I'm probably doing something like asking to have the joke explained, thus making it not funny. Sorry. :) )

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Actually, there's an Israeli joke about refrigerators that turns on the same trichotomy. :-)

[mercurysparkle.livejournal.com]

The short answer is that we are planning to have a kosher kitchen. Since my current kitchen is not kosher, and it's not possible to kasher a crockpot, I would not be able to use this in the future in a new kitchen.

It's such an efficient little device, it is more cost-effective to buy one now, rather than go without and spend more on other foods.

I am so trying that!

[rebhershy.livejournal.com]

I went out and bought a frozen duckling to make a la your recipe. Sounds too delicious to pass up.

Would you like my pareve chulent recipe?

Re: I am so trying that!

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Sure!

How'd the duck come out?

Re: I am so trying that!

[rebhershy.livejournal.com]

It's thawing even as we speak!

I don't often do duck. Salome has a sort of aversion to the smell of cooking fowl, and duck is a very distinctive aroma.

I'm going to put it up in the morning to be ready for Friday night. I noticed you chose a more robust seasoning regime than the original recipe from which you quote. Is it because you tried it their way first and it was underseasoned or just an intuitive amendment?

I'm salivating even as we speak :)

Re: I am so trying that!

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

... An extra bay leaf? No, that was just intuitive. >:-) I've only made it the once, so far.

Note, actually, that their recipe also called for "3 whole cloves" -- I couldn't decide if that meant actual *cloves*, which I didn't have anyway (having just moved), or cloves of *garlic*, so I ended up leaving that line out altogether and it was just fine.

Re: I am so trying that!

[rebhershy.livejournal.com]

It meant 'cloves' (Syzygium aromaticum), I'm sure, the spice we call "Negel" (nails) in yiddish I have it powdered, but it tends to dye foods a very dark grey when used as a powder in cooking.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Ooh yum! I just bought a slow cooker at a garage sale and am eager to try,

Two questions: have you tried with canned instead of dried chickpeas? And I am not a fan of red pepper, any suggestions for a substitute?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

The red pepper, I think you could just leave out with no ill effects. I don't think you need to add anything else to compensate. The oregano is the really important flavoring ingredient there.

As for canned -- I don't know, honestly. I would *tend* to think it might not come out as good: (a) canned ones are already cooked, so they won't take up as much of the broth, (b) canned ones have IME a slightly different flavor, and (c) why use $3 worth of canned when you can use $1.50 of dried? :-} It's really, really not any more work to tear open a bag the night before and leave it in a bowl of water in the fridge, than it is to open two cans.

Hershy’s Gan-Eden Chulent, (pareve).

[rebhershy.livejournal.com]

Hershy’s Gan-Eden Chulent, (pareve).

Ingredients:

• Black beans
• Navy beans
• Pinto beans
• Great northern beans
• White and red kidney beans
• Garbanzo beans
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Tarragon
• Allspice
• Potato Kugel (soufflé)
• Pareve Kishka (Derma)

From beginning to end this recipe must be concocted with the honor and beauty of Shabbes in mind and on your lips. Say frequently, “I’m making this Chulent L’Kavod Shabbat Kodesh”.

Take a small handful each of the beans. Sort out and remove any small rocks or beans with holes (weevils), or obvious signs of decay.

Wash thoroughly, (scrub if necessary).
a) Cover with four inches of water and soak overnight in the fridge. Wash thoroughly before cooking, allowing water to run over beans until all traces of residue from overnight soaking is gone.
b) Alternatively, cover with two inches of water and bring to a rolling boil. Allow beans to boil no more than five minutes. Remove from flame. Wash thoroughly again until all trace of foam or scum is gone. I use a colander for this purpose and run my fingers through the beans once they are cool enough to touch to make sure they are quite clean.

Cover with four inches of water and set crockpot to low. Allow it to do its business at least four hours before adding spices or other ingredients. If salt is added to fresh beans the shells are cured and harden.

After 4 hours of simmering, add 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 3 tablespoons olive-oil, tarragon and allspice in small amounts. Allspice, Pimenta Officionalis mimics three other spices, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Allspice is very pervasive and should be used sparingly; a half a teaspoon for this amount of beans suffices for my recipe. Others may prefer more presence. Tarragon requires only sufficient to cover the surface of the liquid covering the beans in the lightest coating of green flakes. The beans are soft, so remember, stir spices into beans gently so as not break the beans.

Allow spices to merge with beans before adding a slice of Kugel and ½ a roll of Kishke. Leave on low overnight.

Serves 4.

Note: Chulent acts like Jewish Valium. So, do not make any social engagements for Shabbes afternoon.