By Christine Salins.
Despite its reputation, the slow cooker is not just for hearty comfort food. Alyce Alexandra, author of nine cookbooks for slow cookers and thermo cookers, is at pains to point out that it’s also perfect for making fresh, light dishes.
Light pastas, fresh Mexican dishes, bright soups and salads, Asian broths and even desserts and drinks feature in her latest book, Modern Slow Cooker (Penguin Random House, $29.99).
“The slow cooker is definitely not just for winter cooking – in fact, I think it really shines in the warmer months,” she says. “No need to crank up the oven or stand over a hot stove because the slow cooker undemandingly ticks away on the bench without heating up the whole kitchen.”
At a time when people are busier than ever, Alexandra says this wonderful appliance allows you to reclaim your leisure time with meals that are easy to prep and ‘set and forget’.
There’s another revolution she has brought to slow cooking too: every recipe in the book is vegetarian or vegan. With 2.5 million Australians now eating all or almost all vegetarian due to ethical, health and environmental reasons, she shows how easy it is to incorporate a few meat-free meals a week without thinking twice about it.
The book also contains the rich stews, soups and curries people expect, but they come with a whole host of new options like crispy-fried mac ’n’ cheese, satay laksa, noodles, and pasta. The Bolognese sauce here is one of her favourites because it is rich, hearty and satisfying while also providing a big dose of veggies.
She likes to ladle it over penne or rigatoni, but says it is also great as a shepherd’s pie base, a pie filling, pasta bake sauce, served over creamy polenta, stuffed in capsicums or inside a jacket potato.
Thick and Saucy Veg Bolognese
Serves 6
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 brown onions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely diced
1 eggplant, diced
400 g swiss brown mushrooms, diced
200 g pitted kalamata olives, diced
500 g ripe tomatoes, diced
¼ cup (70 g) red miso paste*
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 chicken-style stock cubes or 1 tablespoon faux-chicken stock powder
3 teaspoons ground sweet paprika
700 g passata
1 potato, peeled and grated
- Heat oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
- In this order, add carrot, celery, eggplant, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, miso paste, maple syrup, stock cubes or stock powder, paprika and passata to slow cooker. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
4 OR 8 HOURS LATER:
- Add grated potato, fold through, incorporating well. Cover and cook for a further 30 minutes on high.
*If avoiding gluten and soy, ensure miso paste is gluten and soy free – soy-free miso is hard to find but it can be done!
From: Modern Slow Cooker, by Alyce Alexandra, published by Penguin Random House, $29.99.
