Paprika and cumin pulled lamb with tomato and butter beans

I dont know about you guys but I use my slow cooker all through summer. I cooked this the other night and it made a lot so Im having it again tonight, but using it to mix through some pasta :)

If you want to make a dryer lamb leave out the stock.

I had it with coleslaw with a swirl of my new favorite sauce chipotle mayonnaise! I love the taste of the smoky chillis :)

Leftover ideas you can use as a baked potato topping, as a pie filling, pasties, a base for shepards pie, on a pizza, mixed through some pasta, so many things!!

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1.2kg half leg of lamb or similar, you can use 1-2kg

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup of chicken or beef stock, you could use a little red wine here also

1 tbsp paprika

3 tsp cumin

1 tsp celery salt- you can leave out if you don’t have it

1 brown onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1x 400g can of rinsed and drained butter beans

Method

Chuck everything in the slow cooker and put on low for the day. When done take out the lamb and pull apart using 2 forks. Then add back into the slow cooker and mix through the sauce.

Honey BBQ ribs

Ingredients

1.5-2kg ribs or a pork shoulder or lamb shoulder/leg

1 cup of tomato passata

¼ cup of apple cider vinegar or similar

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp celery salt

½ tsp ground cloves

1 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp honey

Method

Mix all the sauce ingredients and put your meat in an ovenproof dish and cover for 2 hours at 150c

Or you can cook in a slow cooker for the day.

If doing pulled pork or pulled lamb you can add 1-2 cans rinsed and drained legumes like butter bean or cannellini beans if you wanted, it’s like bbq baked beans.

I serve up with coleslaw, corn on the cob and some rice. The mayo for the coleslaw I used balsamic vinegar instead of acv and added in some wholegrain mustard at the end.

Here is a video of how to make mayo with a stick blender, it takes just 2 minutes!

click for a video on how to make mayo

Slow cooked creamy mustard beef pie (spelt flakey pastry)

This can be a stand alone dish with the pastry as I was originally going to have it as. I was watching Masterchef the other night and they had a pie challenge. So I thought I would have a go at making my own pastry and so I ended up just topping the pie with pasty but didn't use pastry as the base.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 kg piece of beef chuck steak, cut into 8, I only put this on at lunch time, took 5 hours on high.

2 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

300ml pure cream

5 cloves garlic, rough chop

2 red onions, rough chop

¼ cup of sherry or brandy (opt)

Method

You can either brown the beef, then add the garlic, onion and sherry (if using), reduce it a little and then add the mustards and cream, heat and add it all to the slow cooker or

Put in the slow cooker on low for the day. Take the meat out at the end and pour the liquid out into a pot and reduce all the liquid until nice and thick. Put the beef back in the slow cooker to keep warm while the liquid is reducing. Serve up wit steamed veg and pasta/rice/mash etc or use to make a pie

If you are using this for a pie filling mix

-the sauce and beef need to be used cold.

Chop the cooked beef into smaller pieces. At the end of cooking when you have reduced the cream and some cornflour with water and add a little at a time to the cream until it is really thick. Add to the chopped beef and leave to cool before using.

To make the pies 

1/2 the recipe below will make enough for 6 pastry circles or one big one- you might have a little leftover.

You can either fill ramekin dishes  with the beef and top with pastry using the ramekin as your guide

or you can use an big oven proof dish and top with pastry

Brush the pastry with milk or egg wash and you can sprinkle with poppy seeds, black sesame seeds or what have you.

To pastry needs to be rolled out thin to about 3mm and baked at 180 c fan forced or 200c normal for 25-30 minutes.

You can save leftover pastry put wrapping it and putting in the fridge to use within the week or store in the freezer.

Spelt flakey pastry

Makes 600g pastry

Ingredients

250g spelt flour

180g cold butter-diced small

70g cold butter-divide into 5 portions and then slice the butter in each portion-keep this in the fridge until needed.

½ tsp salt

Method

In a bowl put in your flour and the 180g cold diced butter and squash the flour and butter in-between your fingers, you can keep plenty of lumps in there. Then add 1 tbsp of very cold water (with ice) Using a bread knife mix in, add another tbsp of the water and mix, add enough water until you can press the dough together. Then put onto a floured bench, sprinkle over some flour as needed on the dough, knead until it just comes together and then roll out to about half an A4 paper (1/2 a printer paper size). The length needs to be a little bit longer though.

Over the top of your dough take 1/5 of your 70g cold butter and dot over. Then roll up your dough , and roll out to the half an A4 size again. Dot another 1/5 of the butter over the dough and roll up. Continue with this until all the butter is used. Then you can wrap and put in the fridge until needed. Have it in the fridge at least 30 minutes before you use it.

This is the video I watched to show you how to do it if my instructions are confusing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6mx254Zg44

Slow cooked lamb with rosemary and garlic, classic lamb flavors with jus

Here I have used a 10g pack of rosemary, leave whole, plus a tonne of chopped garlic and 1 cup of broth from the freezer and some salt and pepper. You can use a leg or shoulder.

Put on low for the day with the fatty skin side facing up.

When done carefully lift out-watch out it doesn't fall apart! Then you can put under a medium heated grill to brown the top and render the fat down some more. Gently scrap off the rosemary and garlic first (garlic will burn otherwise)

To make the jus

With all the juices in the slow cooker strain into a pot (you can add some spare red wine here too if you wanted (what is this spare wine you speak of?)

SImmer these juices until reduced right down and is thickened and tastes amazing. I reduced by about 3/4, this means if you start with 500ml, reduce down to 125ml. I threw in some chopped mint at the end too, for some freshness.

Gravy is really just broth and pan juices which is thickened with a flour, good but not as good as jus!

A jus, is broth that has been reduced, or simmered continuously until it is thick, the flavors will concentrate and you get that smooth gelatinous feel in your mouth.

Slow cooked lamb shanks with tomato, rosemary and garlic

Ingredients

4 lamb shanks

1x 700ml jar of tomato passata

5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small handful of rosemary stems with leaves.

Method

Put in a slow cooker on low for the day. You don’t have to but I also added 2 chopped carrots, 2 celery sticks and 1 onion, all chopped. To stretch this out you can add some cooked butter beans or chickpeas in the beginning. If you want it really saucy add 1 cup of water or broth at the beginning. I have served with sweet potato mash and roasted Brussel sprouts and broccoli. When you serve up take the stems of rosemary out. Any sauce left you can freeze for another day. You can also save to bones to make broth :)

Honey Bbq Ribs

Serves 4 hungry people!

Ingredients

1.5 kg pork or beef ribs

In your slow cooker or a bowl add 2x 140g tubs of tomato paste

Add 1/3 of cup apple cider/white wine vinegar or similar

3 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp  of honey

1 brown onion, small dice

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

½ tsp celery salt

¼ tsp ground cloves

Method

If you have time you can marinate this overnight. Put everything in a slow cooker, stir it up and cook on low for the day or high for 4 hours. You can also bake this in the oven for about an hour to an hour and a half at 160c.

Rice pilaf-enough for 8 serves- I keep half of this to make fried rice another night.

Ingredients

2 cups of basmati rice

1 onion finely diced

4 cloves garlic minced

Method

Saute the onion and garlic in some butter and olive oil until softened. Add your rice and stir until coated. Then add 3 ¾ cups of water or broth. Simmer with the lid on for 10-12 minutes then turn off and leave the lid on. Leave for 5 minutes.

Orange and ginger slow cooked chicken

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

12 chicken drumsticks

Blend up the following to make a paste; or you can finely chop the aromatics and add to the slow cooker.

Zest and juice of 2 blood oranges, or normal oranges- I have put the used oranges in a jug and topped up with 2 litres of water, you can use soda water too. Waste nothing! I use a microplane to zest (in pic below) you can find these at most supermarkets, big w, target etc

1 tbsp turmeric

2 tbsp ginger

3-4 cloves of garlic

¼ cup tamari or coconut aminos

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp chinese 5 spice

Method

Put it all in your slow cooker, I put this on for 4 hours on high or 7-8 on low.

When it’s done take out your drumsticks and put the liquid in a pot. Put your drumsticks back in the slow cooker to keep warm. Simmer the liquid for about 10 minutes or until it is nice and thick. This can be done while you are cooking the vegetables and rice

The veges I have stir-fried. I used carrot, celery, capsicum and green beans, stir-fried with plenty of fat, I have used brellow which is the fat than forms on your bone broth once it has cooled overnight in the fridge. The yellow colour is from the turmeric I used in the broth.

Buttered rice-

I have cooked 3 cups of rice, I have used some of this for a rice pudding and also saved some to make a fried rice for another night.

3 cups of basmati rice

5 cups of water

Simmer for about 10 minutes with the lid on. Make sure the rice is well cooked. When cooked add 50g cubed butter and stir through. I took out 1 ½ cups of the rice and set aside for rice pudding. Then you can season the rice with plenty of salt.

Divide the rice that is left in half, set aside ½ for fried rice.

Slow cooked honey mustard chicken

1.2 kg chicken lovely legs,

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 heaped tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

1 ½ cups pure cream

4 carrots in big chunks

Salt

Chuck it all in the slow cooker on low. This took my slow cooker 6 hours. I then took the chicken and

carrot out put in an ovenproof dish and kept in the oven at 100c to keep warm. Into the slow cooker went 1 ½ cups rice and an extra 200ml water. Put on high for an hour. To make this quicker just pour your liquid (you need about 3 cups of liquid) and rice in a pot with some salt and simmer for 10 minutes or until your rice is cooked.

Mussaman curry paste

Ingredients

1 teaspoon shrimp paste, you could use a few anchovies

2 teaspoons ground coriander- you can use coriander seeds if you have them- toast first

2 teaspoons ground cumin- you can use cumin seeds if you have them- toast first

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 brown onion, rough chop

3 garlic cloves

1 stem lemon grass, trimmed, white part chopped

3cm piece galangal or ginger, peeled

red chilllis- opt if you like some heat!

Method

Wrap shrimp paste in foil. Heat in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until roasted.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Add a little water or oil if needed.

To make the curry, fry off your paste and then put in your meat- I have used beef on the bone, about 1kg, brown and then put into a slow cooker. Add to the slow cooker 2 potatoes, 3cm dice (Keep it pretty big as they break down) and 1/3 of a cup of peanuts, 2 bay leaves, 5 cardamon pods, crushed and a 400ml can of coconut milk/cream.

You can leave out the nuts and potatoes if you wanted or use sweet potato or other nuts such as cashews, there are no rules when you are the cook! Put on low for the day.

Slow cooked aromatic chicken

Doing your dinner this way you get your broth made at the same time  :)

1 whole chicken, I like to take the skin off and fry later until crisp as soggy chicken skin is not cool!Carrot, lemon, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, star anise- the amounts you see here. Keep it chunky so you can pull them out.

Put all your aromatics in your slow cooker and then put your chicken on top. Fill to the top with water. I like to add some tamari and a few drops of sesame oil. Cook on low for the day. Drain you can keep the onion and carrots to eat. The aromats you can freeze them and use next time you make broth so you don't have to chuck them. The broth left you can freeze or use that week for soups, casseroles, cooking some rice etc...serve the chicken with some extra veg and some buttered rice and your crispy chicken skin

Lots of beautiful broth!

Keep and freeze for your next broth

Asian pulled lamb with carrots and a side of cavolo nero, green bean, sesame and almonds

Serves 6

 

Ingredients

1 kg whole lamb shoulder or similar

5 slices ginger

Lots of peeled garlic

3 star anise

½ cup of broth or water

 2 tbsp tamari, soy, or coconut aminos

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, you can leave out if you want

3 carrots -cut in half

Method

Chuck it all in your slow cooker and cook for the day. Pull apart with a fork when done.

The side dish is 500g ( you can use depending on how many people you are feeding) green beans, tops and tailed and 1 bunch of washed and chopped cavola nero, you can use spinach or kale. In a large pan or wok stir fry the beans in some coconut oil/ghee for 3 minutes and then add the cavolo nero and then add tbsp each of sesame seeds and slivered almonds, stir fry another 1-2 minutes until your greens are wilted