[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

[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.