Remoska cookers (merged)

cashmeregirls

cheers julie thats really helpful:T

mardatha

JUlieQ thats really helpful ta. I was just moaning that I seem to be using the cooker for potatoes and veg, and the remoska for jsut meat --thats not moneysaving is it ? I didnt know how to do things altogether cos am a useless cook . How do you do a pasta bake in the remoska then ? Do you need cook the pasta on the hob then shovel it in ?

dawnsong

hi - i haven't posted on this forum before but been reading it for ages - it's great.

i have an electric oven and hob but never use it - too slow. if it's just for the two of you - what works for me is a regular sized remoska (fine for two) and a little portable tabletop camping gas cooker like this one - argos 340/7497 (don't know how to post the link.)

i'm veggie too and everything is done in the remoska unless it needs boiling - i pretty much only use the gas cooker for pasta ( though lasagne is remoska is good if you use pre-cook and reduce the liquid in the sauce.) i've found you can do soup too if the pan is preheated and you add boiling water.

i've had one for a couple of years and it's just great. just one featherweight non-stick pan to wash up - fries, stews,cooks, bakes, roasts - veggies/bread / rice/ cakes - l - u name it. and really cheap to run - the electricity bill has gone down noticibly since i started using it. food rarely sticks and needs little attention so it's much less hassle too. i bought a second remoka standard pan and also the rack - both have proved really useful - have a pudding / bread whatever in the second pan and just swap when the first pan is cooked.

i covered a piece of thick board with couple layers of foil and put that on top of the electric cooker - that way there is room for the remoska and also the lid when you take it off - the lid get very hot but it's upside down and the design means the actual metal lid doen't touch the board or foil so as long as mindful of that, it's been safe.

the gas canisters seem to be cheapest at argos - 12 for £17 - i don't use more than one a week at most. so overall for me it works out much less expensive than using the electric hob and oven. the wee gas cooker is great - has auto ignition, heats fast and can't be switched on unless the canister is locked in place.

will have a think and post some veggie recipes later.

all the best.

juliapenguin

Hi cashmeregirls

I've got a huge oven which I never switch on - I have a Panasonic combination microwave/convection oven/grill and also a big Remoska. I use them both for pretty much everything, but I have to say that the Remoska makes the best chips ever - freshly peeled and cut spuds, a drizzle of oil, mix them up well and cook for 45 minutes or so. Even nicer if you turn them half way, but I don't usually bother and they're delicious. I love chips so much that it would be worth it to me to buy a Remoska just for that!

I do use the gas hob on the cooker, by the way, but dawnsong's solution also sounds excellent. If I hadn't got the hob I'm sure I could manage most things in just the other two - you can put most things in the Remoska which you would normally fry/boil/steam and you can microwave instead of boil/steam.

julieq

I don't really have a hard and fast pasta bake recipe, but for a veggie style one I'd be thinking of something like soaked lentils, courgettes, chopped mushrooms and some cubed carrots or celeriac softened together in olive oil, then put them into the Remoska with some chopped garlic and herbs (thyme certainly, maybe tarragon, possibly fennel seeds) with a carton of lidl tomato passata, possibly some chopped fresh tomatoes and bit of seasoning, then cook that for 30 mins or so, checking from time to time. At the end of that, put in some cooked pasta, fusilli or something like that then grated breadcrumbs and cheese (cheddar would be fine, might mix in some mozarella) on top and bake for 20 minutes or so until it's starting to brown.

For veg in general, I tend to put them around the meat (or cook them before putting the meat in), and I've just been experimenting really. I find that sometimes a smidge of stock or white wine at the bottom of the pan works well, you sit vegetables in that and they steam from underneath and bake from on top. Also whole carrots work great like that, they cut open soft and juicy.

westcountrymaid_2

annie-c wrote: »

I would make a big cake in the main oven to be honest, I think the remoska is best for fairy cakes or for other puddigns etc that don't need to look aesthetically perfect. I'm sure a sponge will cook in the remoska but the heat will not be constant and you are very likely to get a dome shape that will need to be trimmed off to ice it. It is easier to get a level finish by putting a cake into an already hot oven at a constant temperature.

I like my remoska but I think it is important to use it for the things it does best

Re: the names - depends on how artistic you are I know I would make a dogs dinner of painting or icing by hand! You can buy ready made iced, letters which may be easier? Or you can get tiny alphabet cutters

Thanks Annie think I'd better do that then, don't want to end up having to make two if it goes wrong. I was going to get my DH to write the names on, he's more artistic than me but I may end up buying the letters, it's only close family so I'm not too worried about the decoration but I want it to taste nice.

Different_Corner

retiredlady wrote: »

I know from experience that very lean topside can be a pretty tough piece of meat - not matter how much suet you add to it! I would be tempted to either:

1. Cut into small pieces and make a stew or casserole
2. Cook in a pressure cooker before "finishing" it off like a traditional roast in the remoska.

Hope this helps
Marion

Marion you were quite correct, hardly any fat on this piece, so decided to cook it in the oven for just over an hour basted with a touch of red wine, very low 150. A little dry, but menfolk demolished it.

Youngest son today made a very moist layered sponge cake in the moska, it definetely doesn't dry cakes out like my fan oven, not much of that left either.

cashmeregirls

thanks so much for your wisdom ladies cheers mi dears

Penelope_Penguin

cashmeregirls wrote: »

thanks so much for your wisdom ladies cheers mi dears

:beer: I'll add this to the main Remoska thread to keep ideas together

Penny. x

mardatha

Has anybody a magic method of getting mash to sit nicely on top of the meat in a shepherds/cottage pie ? I make my own mince then just use smash because we like it --but I dollop it on top of the mince and it sinks like a brick !!