In my slow cooker today...

angelavdavis

savingforoz wrote: »

Whilst I love my slow cooker, I'm getting a bit bored of cooking everything in passata. What is the best way to make a basic sauce to cook things in? - is it as simple as getting some good quality vegetable stock, onions and garlic and putting that in with the beans and veg etc along with some cornflour to thicken it up?

All help gratefully received!

You can use lentils to thicken up sauces - so for example, a vegetable stew (we are having lamb stew tonight but not sure if you are veggie). You can just add stock to mixed veg (I include potato to thicken) and then add red lentils and pearl barley to help thicken the sauce.

You can make a mushroom sauce for example, by softening mushrooms and onions in butter/olive oil, cook down, then add some worcestershire sauce and seasoning and then add a cornflour paste. This can then be added into the slow cooker with other ingredients. I also add a swig of brandy to pep it up too - particularly good with steak or pork.

Another sauce option is making a white (roux based) sauce - with cheese added for cooking fish, finished under the grill with cheese topping. White sauce can also have white wine adding and mushrooms for pasta too.

Simply liquidising the slow cooked vegetables and stock can be used as a sauce too.

Spicey

Hi all you slow cooker fans. I just got my slow cooker last week and so far have made stew and chilli. So pleased I found this thread, as a slow cooker newbie, I didnt know I could use it for so many things.
Could someone give me the full recipe for rice pudding as I haven't a clue.

savingforoz

angelavdavis wrote: »

You can use lentils to thicken up sauces - so for example, a vegetable stew (we are having lamb stew tonight but not sure if you are veggie). You can just add stock to mixed veg (I include potato to thicken) and then add red lentils and pearl barley to help thicken the sauce.

You can make a mushroom sauce for example, by softening mushrooms and onions in butter/olive oil, cook down, then add some worcestershire sauce and seasoning and then add a cornflour paste. This can then be added into the slow cooker with other ingredients. I also add a swig of brandy to pep it up too - particularly good with steak or pork.

Another sauce option is making a white (roux based) sauce - with cheese added for cooking fish, finished under the grill with cheese topping. White sauce can also have white wine adding and mushrooms for pasta too.

Simply liquidising the slow cooked vegetables and stock can be used as a sauce too.

Thanks, Angela, that's really helpful, just what I was looking for! That will broaden my slow cooker repertoire considerably. :T I'm happy with how to make a white sauce, it was the brown variety I wasn't sure of. Like the idea of slugging some alcohol in there...

katycocoa

Shepherds pie filling. Going to brown mince first though as have read that it can go a bit 'clumpy'. This is my first attempt, hope it's nice.

newlywed

katycocoa wrote: »

Shepherds pie filling. Going to brown mince first though as have read that it can go a bit 'clumpy'. This is my first attempt, hope it's nice.

I always do my shep pie filling in the slow cooker now (with added red lentils, handful of oats to make the sauce thicker, mushrooms, etc to pad the mince out). On the odd occasion I've done it on the cooker, I've been disappointed - much prefer it slow cooked.

ShelBell

Anyone got a nice healthy mince in gravy style recipe? Not many veggies please, needs to be as high protein as poss so will add red lentils.

ginvzt

First time here. Will be great to find some more recipes!!!

Red cabbage is stewing in my slow cooker today!!!! It is going to go with the roast chicken I am going to do when I get home.

On Wednesday I made Persian chicken (thighs with turmeric, cloves, garlic, ginger - very good!)

katycocoa

My shepherds pie filling is in. Used mince, stock, red wine, thyme, worc sauce, mushrooms, carrots and a bit of pearl barley. It smells gorgeous!

Persian chicken sounds lovely. Do you make a sauce or is it more of a dry dish ginvzt?

ginvzt

katycocoa wrote: »

My shepherds pie filling is in. Used mince, stock, red wine, thyme, worc sauce, mushrooms, carrots and a bit of pearl barley. It smells gorgeous!

Persian chicken sounds lovely. Do you make a sauce or is it more of a dry dish ginvzt?

It is with some sauce - not dry at all. Basically, you coat the drumsticks/thighs (8) in turmeric(1tsp)/paprika(1tsp)/plain flour(2tbsp) mixture and fry it on the pan to seal. Pop in the slow cooker. Chop onion and a few garlic cloves and fry in the same pan, at the end add the remaining flour mixture and pint or so of stock. Once boiling, pop everything in slow cooker, add some cloves, salt and pepper and leave cooking for 8-9 hours. Add a couple of handfuls of spinach and cook for 15 min more. Serve with couscous! (hope haven't forgot something)

catznine

"Use it up" soup hopefully. Leftover veg, mash potato and chicken stock to which I have added an onion and a glug of Lee and Perrins. I'm going to blitz it all up in the processor and serve with hunks of hm bread.

Persian Chicken sounds lovely, definately going to try that soon! Thank you!