Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (18 page)
Read Make It Fast, Cook It Slow Online
Authors: Stephanie O'Dea,Stephanie O’Dea
HEARTY OXTAIL STEW
serves
8
The Ingredients
½ tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds oxtails
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, with their juices
1 cup beef broth
1 cup dry white wine
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup frozen roasted corn
5 small red potatoes, cut in chunks
1 cup celery, sliced
1 cup carrots, sliced
4 whole garlic cloves
1 ounce semisweet baking chocolate (optional)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. This recipe takes 2 days—you need to cook it a bit the first day to release fat from the oxtails, then cook low and slow the next day to soften the meat and create flavor. Rub olive oil onto the bottom of your stoneware. Plop in oxtails, and cover with Italian seasoning and spices. Add the tomatoes, broth, wine, vegetables, and garlic. Drop in the baking chocolate square, if desired.
Cook on high 5 to 6 hours the first day, then refrigerate overnight. Scrape off the congealed fat. Allow the removable stoneware to reach room temperature before putting it back into the heating element. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Serve in bowls.
The Verdict
This is a rich, flavorful, and hearty stew. We all gladly ate it up, and while it’s probably more polite to cut the meat off the bones, it’s oddly satisfying to gnaw on them like a wild animal.
JAMAICAN PUMPKIN SOUP
serves
6
The Ingredients
1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin
1 red onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 yams, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
heavy (whipping) cream, 1 tablespoon per family member (optional)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put canned pumpkin into stoneware, and add chopped vegetables. Add spices and sugar. Pour in vegetable broth and water, stirring well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Carefully use a handheld blender to soupify about three-quarters of the soup. If you have little ones in the house with texture issues, feel free to blend it all. Serve with a bit of cream to stir in.
The Verdict
The flavors in this are rich and distinguished. It’s completely fat-free until you add the cream, which is optional. To cut back on cream consumption, I measured out 1 tablespoon per family member and we stirred it in ourselves at the table. This is a gorgeous soup. The kids enjoyed it (they liked it better when it turned yellow with the cream), and Adam and I liked it an awful lot. I’d most definitely serve this to guests.
LAMB, OLIVE, AND ONION TAGINE
serves
6
The Ingredients
2 yellow onions, sliced in rings
1 head garlic cloves, peeled (about 8 to 10 cloves)
2 pounds lamb stew meat or leg of lamb, cut in chunks
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1(1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 (6-ounce) cans pitted black olives, drained
2 tablespoons capers
1 (750ml) bottle red wine
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the onions and garlic into the stoneware. Drop in the lamb, and sprinkle in the dried spices and fresh ginger. Add the olives, capers, and wine. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes, polenta, or quinoa.
PASTA E FAGIOLI
serves
6
The Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef, browned, and drained of excess fat
1 cup carrots, chopped
½ large red onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with their juice
1 (16.5-ounce) jar pasta sauce
4 cups beef broth
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
½ cup dry pasta (I used brown rice fusilli)
Parmesan cheese (optional garnish)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the meat into the stoneware. Add the chopped carrots, onion, and celery. Add the beans, tomatoes, and pasta sauce. Pour in the beef broth. Season with salt, black pepper, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. When the vegetables are tender, stir in ½ cup of dry pasta. Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is al dente. It will swell quite a bit. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
The Verdict
This soup is based upon Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagioli soup, which I haven’t had, but it sounded good. So I made it, in the slow cooker. This is a crowd-pleasing soup. There’s nothing odd in it, and it has a fun kick that isn’t spicy as much as it is noticeable.
PIZZA SOUP
serves
4
to
6
The Ingredients
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
½ red onion, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters (or 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained)
2 Italian sausages (I used Italian-style chicken sausage)
1 cup sliced pepperoni, cut into quarters
8 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or ½ tablespoon dried)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 (14-ounce) jar pizza sauce
3 sauce jars full of water
½ to
1
/
3
cup of dried pasta (If your pasta is tiny, use
1
/
3
cup; if it’s big, use ½ cup)
shredded mozzarella cheese (optional garnish)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Prepare the veggies. Dump them into the stoneware. Slice the sausage into small pieces and add, along with the pepperoni. Add the basil and oregano. Pour in the pizza sauce, and follow with three sauce jars of water. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours. Add the dry pasta 30 minutes before serving, and turn the cooker to high. My brown rice pasta only took 20 minutes to soften quite nicely. Garnish with shredded mozzarella cheese. This is a regular in our family meal plan.
POTATO-LEEK SOUP
serves
6
The Ingredients
3 large leeks (white part only), cleaned and diced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 pound brown potatoes (weigh them—you’ll only need 2 or 3), peeled and chopped
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup heavy cream (optional, I didn’t add any)
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the vegetables into your stoneware. Pour in the broth, thyme, pepper, and garlic. Stir. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, or on high for about 4 hours. When the potatoes and onion are fully cooked and soft, use an immersion blender to soupify, or blend in small batches
carefully
in a traditional blender. Stir in heavy cream, if desired.
The Verdict
This couldn’t have been easier to prepare, especially since I didn’t lift a finger. I lucked out due to a possible jury duty stint, so Adam stayed home from work and did it all. This is a light, creamy soup that is perfect for a starter course, or for sipping out of a mug on the couch. The kids didn’t try it, and thought it smelled gross. They were right—it does have an “earthy” aroma. I opened a window and turned on a fan while it cooked.
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH CURRY AND HONEY
serves
6
The Ingredients
1 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups warm water
1 yellow onion, chopped in chunks
¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (¼ teaspoon was enough for me)
2½ teaspoons curry powder
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
The Directions
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Cut the cauliflower into florets, toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast in a 400°F oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower has begun to caramelize. While the cauliflower is roasting, plug in the slow cooker and turn it to high. Add the broth and water. Put in the onion, cayenne, and curry powder. Add the cauliflower to the broth. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. The soup is done when the onion and cauliflower are fully tender. Carefully use an immersion blender to smash the cauliflower and onion.
Ladle into soup bowls and drizzle honey into each bowl at the table.
The Verdict
I found the flavor to be mysterious—it’s not like anything I had ever had before. This would be fun to serve at a fancy dinner, where guests can squeeze on their own honey. I really like how rich and velvety it tastes without a drop of cream. The kids had bean burritos on brown rice tortillas.
SALSA CHICKEN AND BLACK BEAN SOUP
serves
6
The Ingredients
1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken pieces
4 cups chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) jar prepared salsa
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ cup sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese, avocado slices, fresh cilantro (optional garnishes)
The Directions
Use a 4-quart slow cooker. If you’re using dry beans, soak them overnight. Drain and rinse the beans, and put into the stoneware. Add the chicken, broth, and salsa, then add the corn, mushrooms, and cumin. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or high for 5 to 6 hours. If you’d like to thicken the broth (I did), you can use an immersion blender (I love that thing!) to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don’t have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in a traditional blender. Stir the mixture back into the soup. Mix in the sour cream before serving, and garnish with shredded cheese, avocado slices, and cilantro if desired.
The Verdict
My kids both ate their weight in this soup. It smelled delicious while cooking, and tasted even better. The Internet crowd really likes this soup, too—it has received lots of positive reviews. I was worried that the salsa would be too spicy, but it isn’t—it just adds a fun flavor with a tiny kick.
