Chorizo Cassoulet with Spicy Bread Crumbs
Weeknight dinners are the heart of slow cooking. Throw something in the pot at the beginning of the day, go to work, and come home to a hot meal. No matter how much you love to cook, even if you’re one of those people who starts fantasizing about lunch right after breakfast, there are nights when dinner is a problem to be solved rather than a pleasure. That’s true of everyone, even people who have dedicated their whole lives to cooking. You don’t have to give up your food-lover card if there are some nights when you can’t quite figure out what’s for dinner.
This is the chapter that solves that problem, at least partially. I have spent a lot of time with slow cookers now. (There are six in my small Brooklyn apartment and I’m pretty sure our babysitters think I’m insane. I’m writing a cookbook, I swear!) I have good news and bad news. The good news is that if you have about fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes at night, there are plenty of recipes in this chapter that can cook unattended for about eight hours in between. The bad news is that there are very few cases in which you can put a bunch of raw ingredients into the cooker and then come home and eat them without doing anything else to them—at least not without a substantial compromise in taste or texture. You may need to sauté the aromatics in the morning before putting everything in the pot to make dal, for instance. Or run chicken under the broiler to crisp the skin at night. Often, these upgrades take a matter of minutes and make a huge difference in the final dish.
I’ve also taken into account the fact that not everyone works in an office from nine to five. The gig economy has changed work schedules for a lot of people, myself included, so you’ll find some recipes that cook for three, four, or five hours in here. Some of them can hold on warm, making them good choices for people who are away all day, and some of them can’t. The ones that can cook for eight hours or more are marked “All-Day” so you can find them easily if that’s what you need.
Pick and choose what works best for your family and your schedule, and keep in mind that these recipes are also jumping-off points—once you know that the slow cooker can make a wonderfully fragrant infused oil for poaching fish, you really don’t need me to tell you how to flavor the oil and which fish to use. Once you know you can steam a big batch of farro in the slow cooker and then keep it on hand for no-cook grain bowls, you can decide for yourself that you’d prefer a handful of arugula with it rather than the marinated kale I’ve suggested. I hope these recipes will make the daily practice of feeding yourself and your loved ones more of a pleasure.
Smoked Salmon and Everything Bagel Spice Grain Bowl
Summer Tomato, Basil, and Burrata Grain Bowl
Marinated Kale, Pecorino, and Smoked Almond Grain Bowl
Avocado and Grapefruit Grain Bowl with Coconut-Lime Vinaigrette
Roasted Red Pepper, Caper, Walnut, and Tahini Grain Bowl
Chorizo Cassoulet with Spicy Bread Crumbs*
Lentil Salad with Smoked Trout and Avocado
Creamy Barley with Corn and Green Chile–Lime Salsa
Toby’s Pizza Pasta with Black Garlic and Pancetta
Oniony Poached Salmon with Horseradish Crème Fraîche*
Garlic and Rosemary Oil-Poached Shrimp*
Dried Chile and Sichuan Peppercorn Shrimp*
Tuna and Tomato Confit with Thyme and Coriander*
Lemony Braised Potato Salad with Good Tuna and Arugula*
Ricotta-Spinach Polenta with Tomato Salad*
Dal with Mango and Mustard Seeds*
Shakshuka with Feta and Olives*
Harissa-and-Honey-Braised Eggplant with Chickpeas*
Chinese Chile-Bean Eggplant with Smoked Tofu*
Olive Oil–Braised Fennel and Shallot*
Italian Deli Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs in Lots of Sauce
Spiced Lamb Meatballs in Harissa Tomato Sauce
Italian Wedding Soup with Sausage Meatballs and Kale*
Chipotle-Almond Braised Beef Tacos*
Orange, Olive, and Fennel Chicken Tagine
Gingery Chicken and Shiitake Congee*
Green Pozole with Pumpkin Seeds, Chicken, and Collards*
Miso-Butter Roast Chicken and Potatoes
Luxury Chicken Breasts with Herb Aioli*
Duck Confit, Escarole, and Fennel Salad with Clementines
*All-day recipes: These recipes can cook or hold on warm unattended for 8 hours or more.
TOP: Roasted Red Pepper, Caper, Walnut, and Tahini Grain Bowl
BOTTOM: Summer Tomato, Basil, and Burrata Grain Bowl
TOP TO BOTTOM: Marinated Kale, Pecorino, and Smoked Almond Grain Bowl; Smoked Salmon and Everything Bagel Spice Grain Bowl; Avocado and Grapefruit Grain Bowl with Coconut-Lime Vinaigrette
Grain bowls are practical, healthy, and customizable—having a stash of steamed grains in the fridge means you are never far from a good meal. You’ll find directions for steaming various whole grains in the slow cooker in the Basics and Building Blocks chapter. These bowls are ideal for no-cook suppers or portable lunches—each works with whatever grain you have on hand or like best. I like to use room-temperature grains, but you could also use just-cooked or chilled grains. Plan to use one cup, more or less, of grain per bowl; there’s no need to measure. Just pile grains in a bowl according to your appetite and then top it following one of the ideas below.
Smoked Salmon and Everything Bagel Spice Grain Bowl
TO MAKE 1 BOWL: Pile the steamed grains of your choice in a bowl. (Barley or farro is great here.) Add a small handful of baby arugula and about 2 ounces sliced smoked salmon. Drizzle some Lemon Yogurt Dressing over everything, then top with a sprinkle of everything bagel spice.
LEMON YOGURT DRESSING MAKES 4 SERVINGS
In a medium bowl, whisk ½ cup plain whole milk or 2% Greek yogurt, ½ small grated garlic clove, 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from about ½ lemon), 1 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste). Whisk in more water or lemon juice to thin the dressing if necessary.
See photo.
Summer Tomato, Basil, and Burrata Grain Bowl
TO MAKE 1 BOWL: Pile the steamed grains of your choice in a bowl. (Barley or farro is great here.) Add ½ chopped ripe tomato, a handful of torn basil, one-quarter of an 8-ounce burrata ball, the juice of ½ lemon, and a good glug of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stir so that the cream from the burrata sauces the whole bowl.
See photo.
Marinated Kale, Pecorino, and Smoked Almond Grain Bowl
TO MAKE 1 BOWL: Pile the steamed grains of your choice in a bowl. (Spelt or farro is great here.) Drizzle the grains with olive oil, then top with a generous shower of grated pecorino Romano. Top with a handful of Marinated Kale, then more grated pecorino. Finish with a small handful of chopped smoked almonds.
MARINATED KALE MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Wash, dry, and stem 1 large bunch of kale (I prefer lacinato), then cut the leaves into thin ribbons and put the ribbons into a sealable container or zip-top bag. Add the juice of 1 large lemon, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Massage all the ingredients together, then close the container or seal the bag and shake. Let sit for at least 30 minutes or refrigerate for up to 1 day before serving.
See photo.
Avocado and Grapefruit Grain Bowl with Coconut-Lime Vinaigrette
TO MAKE 1 BOWL: Pile the steamed grains of your choice in a bowl. (Black rice is great here.) Add the segments from ½ grapefruit (peel, pith, and membrane cut away) and one-quarter of a sliced avocado. Season with salt. Drizzle with Coconut-Lime Vinaigrette. Top with salted cashews.
COCONUT-LIME VINAIGRETTE MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Whisk together ¼ cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes) and ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon well-shaken full-fat coconut milk. Add 1 tablespoon plain whole milk Greek yogurt and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk to combine and stir in 1 seeded, diced jalapeño. Add a bit more yogurt if you’d like a thicker dressing.
See photo.
Roasted Red Pepper, Caper, Walnut, and Tahini Grain Bowl
TO MAKE 1 BOWL: Pile the steamed grains of your choice in a bowl. (Brown rice is great here.) Add ⅓ cup chopped roasted red peppers and 1½ teaspoons capers. Top with 1 tablespoon tahini and the juice of ½ lemon and season with salt and pepper. Toss well until everything is evenly combined and creamy. Top with 2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts (see Toasted Nuts for toasting directions) and some chopped fresh parsley and/or dill.
See photo.
Chorizo Cassoulet with Spicy Bread Crumbs
This wintry ragout isn’t a traditional cassoulet, but it’s reminiscent of all the things I love about the classic dish: the creamy flageolet beans enriched with pork, the crunchy bread-crumb topping. It’s an ideal, comforting cold-weather weeknight dinner—wholesome but not at all austere. Old beans can dry out to the point where they will not become tender no matter how long you cook them, so it’s worth buying a new bag if yours has been hanging around for a long time.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1¾ cups dried flageolet beans (about 12 ounces)
5 garlic cloves, smashed
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3¾ cups Classic Chicken Stock, low-sodium chicken broth, or water
6 ounces dried Spanish chorizo sausage, diced small
1 bunch of kale (8 to 10 ounces), preferably lacinato, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 cup panko bread crumbs, for topping
1. Cover the beans with water by at least 1 inch in a large saucepan and bring them to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and let them gently simmer for 10 minutes, then drain.
2. Combine the drained beans, garlic, 1 teaspoon of the paprika, the cumin, 1½ teaspoons salt (use only 1 teaspoon if you’re using store-bought salted broth), and a few generous grinds of black pepper in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW until the beans are tender but not falling apart, 8 to 9 hours. (Check them early if you can; there is a wide time range in which beans become tender. In general, larger slow cookers will cook faster than smaller ones.)
3. About 20 minutes before you eat, increase the heat to HIGH and stir in the chorizo and kale. Cook until the kale is tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon paprika and the red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Add the panko and cook, stirring, until the bread crumbs are orange from the spices and lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Season the spiced bread crumbs with salt.
5. Serve the cassoulet in bowls and top each portion with a generous sprinkle of the bread crumbs.
Good to know: If you can’t find flageolet beans, you can substitute an equal amount of cannellini beans, but because they are larger they will take a bit longer to cook—allow 8 to 10 hours for them to get tender.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 2 or step 3 for up to 2 hours • Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 8 to 9 hours • Finish time: 20 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
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Lentil Salad with Smoked Trout and Avocado
Without the avocado, this salad keeps well for up to 4 days—just toss in the avocado right before you eat. It’s equally good warm or at room temperature, so it makes an excellent packed lunch.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1½ cups beluga lentils (about 12 ounces)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (about 1 heaping cup)
8 ounces smoked trout fillets, skinned and flaked
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
⅓ cup minced fresh chives
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, plus more to taste
1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
Juice of ½ lemon
1. Combine the lentils with 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt in a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until the lentils are just tender but still hold their shape, about 3 hours. Drain. You can make the salad now, or the lentils can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
2. In a serving bowl, combine the drained lentils with all the remaining ingredients. (If you’re making the salad ahead of time, hold back the avocado.) Toss gently to combine. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and additional vinegar if you think it needs it. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Good to know: Beluga lentils are worth seeking out. Sometimes they’re just labeled “black lentils,” but you’ll know them by the way they look—like little beads of caviar. They’re tiny, firm, and jet black, and they keep their shape much better than other lentils, making them excellent in salads. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s both carry them, as does Amazon.
Does not hold well on warm • Prep time: 5 minutes • Slow-cook time: 3 hours • Finish time: 20 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 7-quart slow cooker
Creamy Barley with Corn and Green Chile–Lime Salsa
This risotto-like whole grain ragout showcases the bright flavors of late summer: corn, tomatoes, and peppers. You can make it with 4 cups of frozen corn when fresh is out of season, but you’ll miss out on the flavor the cobs add to the broth as it cooks.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4 large, plump ears fresh corn
4 cups Classic Chicken Stock, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, or water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 large red or yellow onion, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1½ cups pearled barley
1 cup dry white wine
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 medium ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, chopped
½ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
One 7-ounce can diced green chiles, drained
2 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and diced
Juice of 1 lime
1. Cut the kernels from the corn cobs (you’ll end up with 3 to 4 cups, depending on the size of the ears) and reserve the kernels in the fridge. Put the corn cobs into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker (snap them in half if you need to) and add the stock.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the poblanos, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the barley and cook, stirring, to mix all the ingredients and to lightly toast the barley, 1 minute. Pour in the wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until the liquid starts to bubble, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper again, then add the mixture to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
3. Cook on HIGH until the barley is tender, 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours. (Don’t try to use low heat; it does not work well for grains.)
4. Reduce the heat to WARM if the slow cooker hasn’t auto-switched. Using tongs, remove the corn cobs and use a spoon to scrape any barley off them back into the pot. Discard the cobs. Stir in the corn kernels and scallions and cook until the corn is just tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, crema, and cilantro.
5. In a medium bowl, stir together the canned chiles, jalapeños, and lime juice. Season with salt. Serve the barley in bowls topped with the salsa.
Good to know: You can make this dish completely vegetarian by using water or vegetable stock.
Holds well on warm through step 3 for up to 30 minutes • Prep time: 25 minutes • Slow-cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours • Finish time: 20 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Toby’s Pizza Pasta with Black Garlic and Pancetta
Toby’s Public House is our neighborhood pizza restaurant—it’s pubbish and comfortable, with a long wooden bar and a wood-burning oven that turns out wonderful crisp-chewy pizzas. We always get a particular pie that’s topped with tomato sauce, mushrooms, pancetta, mozzarella, and sweet black garlic. This is that pizza translated into a baked pasta—make the sauce in the slow cooker and then just toss it with pasta and broil for a crisp, bubbly top.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
4 ounces pancetta, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound large pasta shells
Cloves from 2 black garlic heads, halved
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced, or, in a real pinch, preshredded mozzarella
1. Put the pancetta into a large dry skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and the bits start to get golden, about 4 minutes. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon, leaving its fat behind, and place it on a paper towel to drain. Reserve the crisped pancetta in the fridge.
2. Add the oil and butter to the skillet over medium-high heat and let the butter melt. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms soften, give off their moisture, shrink, and start to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and vinegar and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the tomatoes. Pour ¼ cup water into the can, swish it around to get out any remaining tomato, and add the water to the skillet. Stir in the oregano and red pepper flakes. Scrape the sauce into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker and cover. Cook on LOW until the sauce’s flavors have mellowed and married, about 6 hours.
3. Preheat the broiler on high and position a rack 6 inches from the heat source (if that’s how your broiler is configured). Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, ladle the warm sauce into a 9 × 13-inch baking dish and toss in the black garlic cloves. Drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce. Taste and season with salt if necessary. Top the pasta evenly with the mozzarella slices and scatter the reserved crisp pancetta bits on top. Broil until the mozzarella is melted and browned in spots, 3 to 4 minutes.
Good to know: Black garlic is just regular garlic that’s been aged until it has lost its pungency and become sweetish and soft, almost like a dried fruit. It’s available at Trader Joe’s, some Whole Foods, and Amazon.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 2 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 20 minutes • Slow-cook time: 6 hours • Finish time: 20 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker and a 9 × 13-inch oven-safe baking dish
This is a take on spaghetti puttanesca, a zingy, spicy, almost-vegetarian pasta from southern Italy that gets its big flavor from anchovies, capers, olives, garlic, tomato, and chile. This is my long-cooked, whole grain version, a risotto-like spicy farro dish. It’s hearty enough to be a main dish on its own, but you could also serve this with a simple piece of baked fish or chicken on top.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1½ cups farro
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
2 tablespoons capers plus 1 tablespoon caper pickling liquid or white wine vinegar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
Juice of 1 lemon
Grated Parmesan and chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for topping
1. Place the farro in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker and add the tomatoes. Pour 2¾ cups water into the tomato can, swish it around to get out any remaining tomato, and add the water to the slow cooker. Stir in the capers and their liquid, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon of the red pepper flakes, and the oregano. Use a mortar and pestle to pound the anchovies, garlic, ½ teaspoon of the fennel seeds, and 1½ teaspoons salt until a paste forms, then stir in the paste. (Alternatively, finely mince the anchovies and garlic and add them to the slow cooker along with the salt and fennel.) Cover and cook on HIGH until the farro is tender, about 3 hours. (Don’t try to use low heat; it does not work well for grains.)
2. Just before serving, pour the remaining ¼ cup oil into a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olives and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. (The olives will splutter.) Add the remaining 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and remaining ½ teaspoon fennel seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir the spiced olive oil mixture into the farro. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Serve in bowls topped with a sprinkling of Parmesan and parsley.
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 30 minutes • Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 3 hours • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Spaghetti pie is like a cross between a frittata and a casserole—a combination of pasta, eggs, cheese, and seasonings slow-cooked into a crisp-edged pie. It makes a comforting dinner, and it’s nice to have leftovers because slices are easily brown-bagged and can be eaten cold, warm, or at room temperature.
There are no peas in a classic carbonara. (Also . . . a classic carbonara is not a pie or made in a slow cooker.) But I love the combination of peas and little bits of crisp, salty pork.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
8 ounces guanciale, pancetta, or thick-cut bacon, diced
1 pound spaghetti or linguine
7 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 2 cups), plus a generous handful for topping
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
3 large eggs
3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup thawed frozen peas
1. Line a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with 1 piece of parchment, cut to fit so that it comes up at least 2 inches on all sides (see How to Line a Slow Cooker with Parchment). This is to prevent sticking. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, put the guanciale (or pork product of your choice) into a dry nonstick skillet and place it over medium heat. Cook until browned and crisped and much of the fat has rendered, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the guanciale with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Reserve the fat.
3. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water, stir, cover the pot to bring it back up to a boil quickly, and then uncover and cook the pasta for 6 to 7 minutes total, until it’s floppy but still has a slight crunch in the middle. Drain the pasta and shake it in the colander to cool it down a bit.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the Parmesan, milk, eggs, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, salt, a few generous grinds of black pepper, the crisp guanciale, and 2 tablespoons of the reserved pork fat. (If there’s less than that, that’s fine, just use it all.) Add the drained pasta to the cheese mixture and mix well to coat.
5. Scrape the pasta mixture into the prepared slow cooker and gently pat it into an even cake. Cover and cook on LOW until the pie is set and golden brown around the edges, about 4 hours.
6. Increase the heat to LOW if the slow cooker has auto-switched to warm. Scatter the peas over the pie, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, until just warmed through. Sprinkle the finishing handful of Parmesan over the peas, then cover and cook until softened, 6 minutes. Uncover and let the pie cool for a few minutes. Grabbing the edges of the parchment liner, lift the pie out of the insert.
Holds on warm through step 5 for up to 1 hour • Prep time: 20 minutes • Finish time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 4 hours • Equipment: 5- to 7-quart slow cooker
See photo.
This peppery, crisp-creamy, cheesy pie was inspired by a recipe by Justin Chapple in Food & Wine.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
7 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
4 ounces grated Gruyère cheese (about 1 cup), plus a generous handful for topping
2 ounces finely grated pecorino Romano cheese (about ¾ cup)
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
3 large eggs
3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti or linguine
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for topping
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Bringa large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together all three cheeses with the milk, eggs, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper.
2. Line a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with 1 piece of parchment, cut to fit so that it comes up at least 2 inches on all sides (see How to Line a Slow Cooker with Parchment). This is to prevent sticking and also to make it easier to reach in and remove the pie when it’s done.
3. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water, stir, and cover the pot to bring it back up to a boil quickly, then uncover the pot and cook the pasta for 6 to 7 minutes total, until it’s floppy but still has a slight but noticeable crunch in the middle. Drain the pasta, then shake it in the colander a few times to cool it down a bit. Add the pasta to the bowl with the cheese mixture and mix well to coat.
4. Scrape the pasta mixture into the prepared slow cooker and gently pat it into an even cake. Cover and cook on LOW until the pie is set and golden brown around the edges, about 4 hours.
5. Uncover the slow cooker, add the handful of Gruyère cheese to the top of the pie, and close the lid. Cook until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Uncover and turn off the slow cooker and let the pie rest and cool for a few minutes. Grabbing the edges of the parchment liner, lift the pie out of the insert and set it on a cutting board to rest for at least 5 minutes. Top with the parsley, cut the pie into slices, and serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Holds on warm through step 4 for up to 1 hour • Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 4 hours • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 7-quart slow cooker
Oniony Poached Salmon with Horseradish Crème Fraîche
It is easy to use the slow cooker to make infused oils, which can then be used as a flavorful poaching medium. This gentle cooking method is especially good for delicate fish and shellfish, which end up silky and moist. You’ll notice that these recipes call for a lot of oil to ensure the ingredients cook evenly, but the oil isn’t absorbed into the food in any significant quantity, so the results are not greasy or heavy. You can save the oil to reuse it once more within a week (use it to poach fish again or to make fried rice), but be sure to keep it in the fridge. Be extra careful with the oils that contain garlic, as garlic oil is a botulism risk if it’s not refrigerated promptly.
Oniony Poached Salmon with Horseradish Crème Fraîche
Put the salmon and sauce over some arugula simply dressed with olive oil and vinegar to make this a complete meal, or coarsely flake it and put it on a bagel with the crème fraîche sauce.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
6 cups (1½ quarts) canola oil
2 medium red onions, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
½ cup crème fraîche
3 tablespoons minced chives
2 tablespoons horseradish, or more to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice (from about ¼ lemon)
Kosher salt
Four 6- to 8-ounce salmon fillets
1. Combine the oil, onions, and quartered lemon in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until the oil reaches 200˚F on a probe or instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you’d like to leave this all day, which will make the oil even more flavorful—and make the onions soft and sweet—set your slow cooker to cook on LOW for 1 hour. It can then hold on WARM for up to 7 more hours. When you come home, increase the heat to LOW and let the oil warm to 200˚F, which should take 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your slow cooker’s temperament.)
2. Meanwhile, combine the crème fraîche, chives, horseradish, and lemon juice in a bowl. Season the sauce with salt. If you want to make it ahead, this sauce will keep well in the fridge for 2 days.
3. Season the salmon with salt and add it to the slow cooker—it’s fine for the fillets to overlap, but you want them all to be submerged in the oil as much as possible. Close the lid. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how well done you like your salmon. Err on the side of a shorter cook time if you like it translucent in the middle. I find it is perfectly medium-rare when you just see little white beads forming on the outside of the fish. Remove the salmon with a slotted spoon, and if the onions have softened quite a bit (likely if you’ve left the oil on warm earlier), pull those out to eat, too. (Discard the lemon.) Serve the salmon topped with the sauce.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 7 hours • Prep time: 5 minutes • Slow-cook time: About 1 hour 45 minutes • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
See photo.
Garlic and Rosemary Oil-Poached Shrimp and Dried Chile and Sichuan Peppercorn Shrimp
Shrimp have a relatively neutral flavor that plays nicely with many different seasonings. Use these ideas as a starting point: Don’t have rosemary? You can throw in thyme instead. Feel free to play with what you like and what you have. The flavored oil functions first as a poaching liquid and then as an instant sauce for the shrimp. Try to seek out American-caught wild shrimp or sustainably farmed shrimp. Most of the shrimp you’ll find in markets are imported from East Asia or South America, and many come with a host of labor and ecology concerns. For the most up-to-date and detailed information, check Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch (Seafoodwatch.org).
Garlic and Rosemary Oil-Poached Shrimp
This reminds me of old-school New England Italian-American shrimp scampi, which is usually served with a heap of olive-oiled linguine. You can certainly serve this over pasta—the aromatic oil with lemon juice makes an instant sauce—but I also like it with crusty bread and a simple salad.
When you’re done, strain and refrigerate the oil for up to a week. You can use it again to poach or sauté seafood.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
6 cups (1½ quarts) extra-virgin olive oil
2 large fresh rosemary sprigs
2 garlic heads, halved crosswise through the equator
1 lemon, quartered
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds large or extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for topping
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Combine the oil, rosemary, garlic, quartered lemon, and red pepper flakes in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until the oil reaches 200˚F on a probe or instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you’d like to leave this all day—which will make the oil even more flavorful—set your slow cooker on LOW for 1 hour. It can then hold on WARM for up to 7 more hours. When you come home, increase the heat to LOW and let the oil warm to 200˚F, which should take 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your slow cooker’s temperament.)
2. Season the shrimp with salt and carefully place them in the oil; close the lid. Cook until the shrimp start to curl and turn opaque, about 12 minutes.
3. Scoop the shrimp and garlic out of the oil with a slotted spoon and toss them together in a serving platter or bowl with a few spoonfuls of the oil. Top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 7 hours • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: About 1 hour 45 minutes • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
See photo.
Dried Chile and Sichuan Peppercorn Shrimp
Contrary to what you might guess, this dish is actually relatively mild—it’s more floral and aromatic, with a slight warming heat that builds a bit over time. The Sichuan peppercorns add a tingly effect. It’s great served warm with rice and sliced cucumber on the side, but my favorite way to eat it is chilled the next day as a light meal or grain-bowl topping.
When you’re done, strain and refrigerate the oil for up to a week and use it to make fried rice.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
6 cups (1½ quarts) extra-virgin olive oil
20 dried chiles de árbol, broken in half
5 garlic cloves, smashed
¼ cup Sichuan peppercorns
2 pounds large or extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt
Chopped fresh cilantro and lime wedges, for serving
1. Combine the oil, chiles, garlic, and peppercorns in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until the oil reaches 200˚F on a probe or instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you’d like to leave this all day, which will make the oil even more flavorful, set your slow cooker to cook on LOW for 1 hour. It can then hold on WARM for up to 7 more hours. When you come home, increase the heat to LOW and let the oil warm to 200˚F, which should take 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your slow cooker’s temperament.)
2. Season the shrimp with salt and carefully place them into the oil; close the lid. Cook until the shrimp start to curl and turn opaque, about 12 minutes.
3. Scoop the shrimp and some of the chiles, peppercorns, and garlic out of the oil with a slotted spoon and toss them together in a serving platter or bowl with a few spoonfuls of the oil. (I like to eat the chiles, but most people don’t.) Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
Good to know: What you want here are small, dried red chiles. I call for chiles de árbol because I think they are the easiest to find—any grocery store with Latin American ingredients will have them, and so does Amazon, which also carries Sichuan peppercorns. But you can also use any small dried red chiles you find at an Asian market, which might be labeled Thai or Korean or Kashmiri—any of those will work.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 7 hours • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: About 1 hour 45 minutes • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
See photo.
Tuna and Tomato Confit with Thyme and Coriander
Oil-poached tuna confit stays moist even when it’s cooked all the way through. Check the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch for the most sustainable tuna choices, but definitely avoid bluefin, which is endangered. When the oil has cooled, strain it and refrigerate it immediately—you can reuse it to poach or sauté fish within about a week.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
6 cups (1½ quarts) olive oil
2 garlic heads, halved crosswise through the equator
2 bay leaves
1 small handful of thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
Four 6-to 8-ounce albacore or yellowfin tuna steaks
Kosher salt
12 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups)
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Combine the oil, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, coriander, and peppercorns in a 5-to 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until the oil reaches 200˚F on a probe or instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour 30 minutes. (If you’d like to leave this all day, set your slow cooker to cook on LOW for 1 hour. It can then hold on WARM for up to 7 more hours. When you come home, increase the heat to LOW and let the oil warm to 200˚F, which should take 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your slow cooker’s temperament.)
2. Season the tuna generously with salt and let it sit at room temperature while the tomatoes cook. Carefully place the tomatoes into the oil, close the lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the tuna to the slow cooker with the tomatoes. Cover and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how well done you like your tuna. (At about 10 minutes the tuna will have some pink left in the middle; at about 15 minutes the tuna will be cooked almost all the way through but not dry at all.)
3. Scoop the tuna out of the oil and slice against the grain. Scoop the tomatoes and garlic out of the oil with a slotted spoon and toss them together with the tuna slices in a serving platter or bowl with a few spoonfuls of the oil. (You can also include a scattering of the oil-poached thyme and coriander seeds, if you like.) Season everything with pepper and more salt if necessary. Serve with lemon wedges.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 7 hours • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: 1 hour 55 minutes • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Lemony Braised Potato Salad with Good Tuna and Arugula
My husband and I can eat almost this entire salad, but if you have more restrained eaters, it could stretch to 4 servings. If you want to bulk it up, braise 2 pounds of potatoes and/or add another can of tuna.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
1½ pounds small red or purple potatoes, halved if larger than about 1 inch in diameter
¼ cup lemon juice, plus more for dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Two 6.7-ounce cans good-quality tuna in olive oil, drained
5 ounces arugula (about 5 loosely packed cups)
½ cup pitted kalamata olives
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1. Combine the potatoes, lemon juice, oil, garlic, 1½ teaspoons salt, a few generous grinds of pepper, and 1 tablespoon water in a 4-to 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, on LOW for about 5 hours or on HIGH for about 2 hours 30 minutes.
2. In a large shallow serving bowl, toss together the tuna, arugula, olives, and onion. Add the warm braised potatoes and some of their braising liquid and toss again to wilt the arugula and evenly combine all the ingredients. Season generously with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: 5 hours or 2 hours 30 minutes • Finish time: 15 minutes • Equipment: 4- to 8-quart slow cooker
Here’s something to make on a Wednesday in late August when you’re tired of tomato salad for dinner. (The slow cooker won’t heat up your kitchen.) Maybe a shrimp boil seems like a party—and it can be!—but it can also be an ideal one-pot dinner. Serve the strained ingredients directly on a newspaper-lined table the way traditional shrimp boils are served, or spoon them into individual shallow bowls, including some broth in every serving. Either way, dip crusty bread into the broth, put out a bowl for the shrimp shells, and encourage everyone to eat with their hands.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved
½ pound smoked Andouille or other smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch slices
¼ cup Old Bay seasoning
Cloves from 1 garlic head, crushed
4 thyme sprigs
12 ounces lager beer, such as Modelo Especial
1 small red or yellow onion, halved
1 lemon, quartered
Kosher salt
2 pounds large or extra-large head-on shrimp
3 ears corn, cut or broken into 4 pieces each
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Hot sauce to taste (I like a Louisiana-style sauce like Trappey’s or Louisiana Brand)
Crusty bread, for serving
1. In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the potatoes, sausage, Old Bay seasoning, garlic, thyme, beer, and onion. Squeeze the lemon over everything, then drop the lemon quarters in the cooker, too. Add 4 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook on LOW until the potatoes are tender, about 5 hours.
2. Using a slotted spoon, discard the lemon quarters and onion halves. Increase the heat to HIGH. Add the shrimp and corn on the cob, stirring gently to mix. Cook until the shrimp are just opaque all the way through, 12 to 18 minutes, depending on their size and the temperament of your slow cooker.
3. Stir in the butter and as much hot sauce as you like. Taste the broth and season it with more salt if it tastes flat. Serve in individual bowls or use a slotted spoon to pile the ingredients on a newspaper-lined table, with bowls of broth on the side and bread for dipping.
Good to know: Head-on shrimp are a treat: There’s deep flavor in those heads and shells that makes the broth extra delicious. You will not regret seeking them out, but this recipe will also work with any shrimp you find in your market. Shelled shrimp will cook more quickly, in around 12 minutes, so keep an eye on them.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 3 hours •Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 5 hours 20 minutes • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 6- to 8-quart slow cooker
Ricotta-Spinach Polenta with Tomato Salad
Polenta is often used as a neutral carb canvas for a rich sauce or braised meat, but here the creamy ricotta-and-spinach-enriched polenta is the centerpiece, with a simple little tomato salad on top for freshness. An egg on top is great, but optional.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1½ cups polenta (not instant or quick-cooking)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
Kosher salt
5 ounces baby spinach (about 5 loosely packed cups)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the eggs
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs (optional)
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup whole or part-skim milk ricotta
1. Combine the polenta with 6½ cups water in a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the butter and 2 teaspoons salt. Cover and cook on LOW until the polenta is thick and tender, about 6 hours.
2. With the slow cooker on LOW, stir the polenta well and then stir the spinach into the polenta in 2 batches, covering the cooker and letting the first batch wilt before adding the second, about 5 minutes per batch.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the tomatoes, oil, and vinegar. Season the tomato salad with salt and pepper.
4. Optional: Pour a thin layer of oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat and crack 4 eggs into the pan. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and cook until the whites are golden brown, lacy on the edges, and just set in the middle, and the yolks are still a little jiggly, about 3 minutes.
5. Fold the Parmesan and ricotta into the polenta. Taste and season the polenta with salt if necessary. Stir in warm water by the tablespoon if the polenta is looking too thick for your taste—keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools. Top bowls of the polenta with the tomato salad and, if you like, the fried eggs.
Good to know: If you’re cooking for strict vegetarians, don’t use imported Parmesan (the good stuff!) because it’s probably made with animal rennet. Instead, seek out a domestic “parmesan” (the okay stuff) that’s labeled vegetarian, like the one made by BelGioioso.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 5 minutes • Slow-cook time: 6 hours • Finish time: 20 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 7-quart slow cooker
Dal with Mango and Mustard Seeds
My mother-in-law is a truly great, intuitive cook—every single thing that comes out of her kitchen is mind-blowingly delicious. She’s a doctor who grew up in Mumbai and cooks mainly Indian food from her home state of Maharashtra. It’s different from the Northern Indian food you find at most Indian restaurants in the United States—lighter and brighter, with lots of seafood and vegetables. She doesn’t use recipes; instead, she just tastes as she goes. This is my unauthorized-biography-style, very imperfect re-creation of her dal.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
1 pound dried red lentils
One 10-ounce bag frozen mango chunks
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 yellow or red onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, grated or minced
One 2-inch ginger knob, peeled and grated or minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 cups mango nectar, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
Plain yogurt and chopped fresh cilantro, for topping
Lime wedges, for serving
1. Stir together the lentils, mango, and 1 tablespoon kosher salt in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker.
2. Warm 3 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until the onion is softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, for a minute or so. Stir in the garam masala, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, and turmeric. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, until very fragrant and well combined. Pour in 2 cups water, stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure any toasted spices and browned bits of onion get incorporated, and pour the whole thing into the slow cooker. Add 4 more cups water and the mango nectar. Stir everything together, cover, and cook on LOW until the flavors mellow and the lentils are soupy and tender, about 9 hours.
3. When you’re ready to serve, stir the dal well and check it for consistency and seasoning. Add more water or mango nectar if it’s too thick or too spicy, and add salt and/or red pepper flakes if it’s tasting flat.
4. Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the cumin seeds. Let them pop and crackle and get really fragrant for 30 seconds or so, stirring to make sure they don’t burn. Tip the oil and cumin seeds into the dal and stir to combine. Serve in bowls topped with yogurt and cilantro and with lime wedges on the side.
Good to know: I call for frozen mango here because it’s so much better (and easier) to use good frozen mango than a mediocre, fibrous, out-of-season fresh mango. But if you have a couple great mangoes (look for Ataúlfo or Champagne varieties from Mexico), please go ahead and throw them in instead.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 2 for up to 2 hours • Prep time: 20 minutes • Slow-cook time: 9 hours • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Shakshuka with Feta and Olives
This is a simple and comforting North African dish of eggs cooked in a spicy tomato and red pepper sauce. The sauce is very forgiving and can hold on warm for a long time, so it’s one of my favorite weeknight dinners when you don’t know exactly when you’ll be home.
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 large red or yellow onion, sliced
Kosher salt
12 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, drained and sliced (about 1 heaping cup)
One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
½ cup pitted olives, preferably kalamata
5 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon schug or harissa, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
Fresh herbs, such as parsley, mint, or dill, and feta, for topping
Pita bread, for serving
1. Warm the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season it with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn golden, 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put the roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and olives into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. With your hands, coarsely break up the tomatoes.
3. Add the garlic to the skillet with the onions, season with salt, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, red pepper flakes, and schug. Season generously with pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant and combined, about 30 seconds. Using a spatula, scrape the onion mixture into the slow cooker (be sure to include the oil) and stir to combine. Season with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook on LOW until the sauce’s flavors have married and mellowed, 6 to 8 hours. (You could also cook this on HIGH for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours.)
4. Taste the sauce and add salt and more schug if you like. Turn the heat up to HIGH, cover, and wait for the edges to start bubbling slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir the sauce, then crack the eggs onto the surface of the sauce and season them with a little salt. Cover and cook for 8 to 15 more minutes, until the eggs are just set on top (which is where they cook slowest) but still jiggly. Scoop servings into bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil. Top with the herbs and feta and serve with pita on the side.
Good to know: Schug (also spelled zhug) is a Yemenite hot sauce that’s popular in Israel. It’s tangy and hot and herbal and comes in both red and green varieties; either will work here. Look for it in your supermarket near the hummus—Sabra makes a very good jarred version. But if you can’t find it, harissa will also be excellent.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 3 for up to 4 hours • Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 6 to 8 hours • Finish time: 30 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Harissa-and-Honey-Braised Eggplant with Chickpeas
Eggplant gets silky and tender with long, gentle heat. Add assertive flavors and a ready-to-go protein—such as chickpeas or smoked tofu—and it’s a natural weeknight dinner.
Harissa-and-Honey-Braised Eggplant with Chickpeas
After you braise the eggplants, you have the option to broil them. I like the way this concentrates their flavor and adds a little smoky, charred flourish. But if you’re in a real rush, you can skip that step.
MAKES 2 MAIN COURSE OR 4 SIDE DISH SERVINGS
1½ to 2 pounds small to medium eggplants, such as Japanese or Graffiti eggplants, or very small Italian eggplants
¼ cup harissa, plus more if necessary
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey, plus more if necessary
Juice of ½ lemon
Kosher salt
1½ cups Basic Slow-Cooked Chickpeas or one 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Plain yogurt and/or crumbled feta cheese and chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for topping
1. Leaving the stem ends of the eggplants completely intact, cut each eggplant into lengthwise quarters by making 2 perpendicular slices up from the bottom of the eggplant to the stem (but not through it); this way, the eggplant stays together but the flesh is separated into 4 quadrants, almost like the petals of a flower.
2. Combine the harissa, oil, honey, lemon juice, and 1½ teaspoons salt in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add the eggplants and rub the seasoning all over them, including inside the cut pieces, so that all the exposed flesh is stained red. Cover and cook on LOW until the eggplants are slumped and very tender, 5 to 6 hours.
3. Optional step: Preheat the broiler on high and position a rack 6 inches below the heat source (if that’s how your broiler works). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully remove the eggplants from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon or tongs (leave the juices in there) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Broil until caramelized and slightly charred in spots, 3 to 5 minutes. Return the eggplants to the slow cooker.
4. Pick up here if you have skipped the broiling step: With the slow cooker on WARM, toss in the chickpeas, cover, and cook until the chickpeas are just warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt, harissa, or honey if needed. Serve in bowls topped with yogurt or feta and parsley.
ALL-DAY
Holds on warm through step 2 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: 5 to 6 hours • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
See photo.
Chinese Chile-Bean Eggplant with Smoked Tofu
This dish is rich, earthy, and spicy thanks to the toban djan, or chile and fermented bean paste, which pairs deliciously with eggplant. You can find smoked or baked tofu in the refrigerated section of most large grocery stores—it’s ready to eat and just needs to be warmed through.
As in the previous recipe, after you braise the eggplants, you have the option to broil them. I like the way this concentrates their flavor and adds a little smoky, charred flourish. But if you’re in a real rush, you can skip that step.
MAKES 2 MAIN COURSE OR 4 SIDE DISH SERVINGS
1½ to 2 pounds medium to small eggplants, such as Japanese or Graffiti eggplants, or very small Italian eggplants
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup Chinese chile-bean sauce (toban djan) or Chinese black bean sauce, plus more if necessary (these are different products but either will work; see note)
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, plus more if necessary
Kosher salt
6 ounces smoked or baked tofu, cut into bite-size pieces
Juice of ½ lime
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, for topping
Rice, for serving (about 1 cooked cup per person; optional)
1. Leaving the stem ends of the eggplants completely intact, cut each eggplant into lengthwise quarters by making 2 perpendicular slices up from the bottom of the eggplant to the stem (but not through it); this way, the eggplant stays together but the flesh is separated into 4 quadrants, almost like the petals of a flower.
2. Combine the oil, chile-bean sauce, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add the eggplants and rub the seasoning all over them, including inside the cut pieces, so that all the exposed flesh is stained red from the seasoning. Cover and cook on LOW until the eggplants are slumped and very tender, 5 to 6 hours.
3. Optional step: Preheat the broiler on high. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully remove the eggplants from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon or tongs (leave the juices in there) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Broil until caramelized and slightly charred in spots, 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Pick up here if you have skipped the broiling step: Return the eggplants to the slow cooker. With the slow cooker on WARM, toss in the smoked tofu, cover, and let sit until just warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Squeeze in the lime juice. Taste and add more salt, chile-bean paste, or brown sugar if you like. Serve in bowls topped with the scallions and, if desired, with cooked rice on the side.
Good to know: Toban djan (also spelled doubanjiang) is a Sichuan-style fermented bean and chile sauce. The one most available in American supermarkets is made by Lee Kum Kee—but it’s also worth seeking out other brands, especially those made in Sichuan province. Find them in Chinese groceries, the Mala Market (themalamarket.com), and on Amazon. Black bean sauce is a completely different product but also has a fermented bean base and is just as delicious with eggplant. Lee Kum Kee also makes a version that is common in large supermarkets.
ALL-DAY
Holds on warm through step 2 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: 5 to 6 hours • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
LEFT TO RIGHT: Tarragon Beets, Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes, Olive Oil–Braised Fennel and Shallot
Most people associate the slow cooker with braised meat, but it can also braise vegetables beautifully. Because they give off moisture as they cook, the vegetables’ cooking liquid doubles as a flavorful sauce. Here are three ideas—for beets, cherry tomatoes, and fennel with shallot. Make them into a full dinner by turning them into open-faced ricotta sandwiches (or fabulous grain-bowl toppings). These three ideas take you from summer to fall to winter.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4 thick slices good crusty bread, toasted
8 ounces whole milk ricotta
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tarragon Beets, Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes, or Olive Oil–Braised Fennel and Shallot, for topping
Thickly spread the toasts with ricotta and season them with salt and pepper. Top the ricotta with beets, tomatoes, or fennel and shallot and drizzle the tartines with the vegetables’ sauce.
Scrub and trim 4 medium-large beets (about 1 pound), but don’t peel them. Put the beets into a 4- to 8-quart slow cooker and season them generously with 2 big pinches of kosher salt. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir to coat. Cook until the beets are tender when you test them with the tip of a knife, about 3 hours on HIGH or 5 hours on LOW. (These will hold well on WARM for up to 1 hour.) Remove the beets (reserve the cooking liquid in the slow cooker) and let them cool enough to handle. Peel the skin from the beets with your hands (they should come off easily) and thinly slice them. (Wear gloves if you don’t want to stain your hands.) Put them into a bowl and pour their cooking liquid over them. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon. Add 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon and 1 trimmed, sliced scallion. Toss and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Store the beets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; they are good cold, hot, or at room temperature.
See photo.
Combine 2 pints (about 1 pound or 3 loose cups) cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 thyme sprigs, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a 4- to 7-quart slow cooker. Stir to combine all the ingredients and set the lid ajar so that there’s a 1- to 2-inch gap. (This will allow the tomato juices to reduce and caramelize.) Cook on LOW until the tomatoes are sweet and caramelized, many of them have burst, and their juices are sticky, about 7 hours, stirring occasionally if you can. (This will keep well on WARM for up to 1 hour.) Remove the thyme sprigs and stir in ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves. Add 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar or more to taste. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Store the tomatoes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; they are good cold, hot, or at room temperature.
See photo.
OLIVE OIL–BRAISED FENNEL AND SHALLOT
Start with 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs (about 1½ pounds total). Cut off the delicate, feathery green fronds and reserve them for later. Cut the fennel bulb in half, core it, and then slice both the bulb and the stalks crosswise (against the grain) into ½-inch- to 1-inch-thick pieces. Put the pieces into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add 5 halved small shallots (6 to 8 ounces), ½ cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Cover and cook on LOW until the fennel and shallots are tender and sweet, 8 to 10 hours, stirring once or twice if possible. (This holds well on WARM for up to 2 hours.) Stir in the reserved fennel fronds and 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Store the fennel and shallots in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; they are good cold, hot, or at room temperature.
See photo.
Italian Deli Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs in Lots of Sauce
The slow cooker can effortlessly handle certain dishes that few people think of as slow-cooker staples, like custards and congee, polenta and risotto, pho and tamales. And then there are a lot of dishes that seem like slow-cooker naturals, which actually need some extra thought and attention to work—like meatballs. Meatballs are great made in the slow cooker. But if you leave them in there too long, even on the warm setting, they will eventually give up all their delicious juices and dry out. (The sauce will be extra-delicious, because that’s where the juices went.) To guard against this, I’ve added lots of moisture-lending ingredients, like buttermilk and an extra egg yolk. The meatballs here are best if you can take them off the heat after four hours. Leaving them on warm for a couple hours longer isn’t going to do much harm, but they will slowly lose their juiciness. Longer than about seven hours total will make them noticeably dry.
Also, you’ll notice I haven’t browned the meatballs before cooking them. Browning has advantages: It renders some of the fat, so that the fat doesn’t end up in your sauce (though some fat is delicious), and it gives the meatballs extra flavor and texture. But I also think it jump-starts the cooking process and makes it impossible to leave the meatballs in the slow cooker as long as many people find most convenient. However, if you’d like, put the meatballs on a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet and run them under the broiler for about five minutes per side, flipping them once, for a total of about ten minutes. Then, using tongs, add them to the slow cooker and cut the cook time to two or three hours, checking the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
Italian Deli Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs in Lots of Sauce
These meatballs channel the punchy, bright flavors of an Italian-American deli sub. Using good-quality hot Italian sausage is a huge time-saver here: It has assertive seasonings like chile, garlic, and herbs, so that you don’t need to add a lot of other ingredients to get a flavorful result. I round out the sausage with ground chicken or turkey, which are usually too lean on their own but make a perfect combination when mixed 50/50 with fatty sausage.
You’ll end up with a lot of sauce—almost like a thick tomato broth, rich with sausage juices. Serve the sauce-smothered meatballs (one or two, at most, per person) in shallow bowls with crusty bread for mopping.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 onion, garlic, or kaiser roll (2 to 2.5 ounces)
⅓ cup buttermilk
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
¼ cup sliced, drained peperoncini, cherry, or banana peppers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
1 pound raw hot Italian sausage, squeezed out of its casing
One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and very thoroughly wrung dry
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 or 9 marinated (or plain) ciliegine or bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls)
Crusty bread, for serving
1. Tear the roll into small bits and put the pieces into a medium bowl. Pour the buttermilk over the top, mix it to combine, and set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Put the tomatoes into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker and stir in the peperoncini. Add ½ teaspoon salt and a generous grind of pepper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, sausage, spinach, beaten egg and yolk, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and a few generous grinds of pepper.
4. Now that the roll has been sitting in the buttermilk for a few minutes, it should be softened. With your hands, mush the roll into the buttermilk until the roll disintegrates and you have a uniform goop. Add this to the bowl with the meat and mix everything with your hands until it is fully combined.
5. Take a small handful of the mixture and flatten it slightly in your palm. Put 1 mozzarella ball on top, then take another small handful of the meat mixture, flatten it slightly, and put it on top of the cheese. Now pinch and pat the meat mixture together to form a ball that fully encloses the cheese inside. It should be about the size of a very small apple or a baseball (but not as big as a softball). Put the meatball into the sauce in the slow cooker and repeat with the remaining mixture to form 8 or 9 meatballs total, nestling the meatballs next to each other in the slow cooker as you go. (It will be crowded, but they should all fit.) Cook on LOW for 4 hours, or until the internal temperature is at least 160˚F when you check the middle of a meatball with an instant-read thermometer. (Or, better yet, stick a probe thermometer in a meatball before you start cooking so you can monitor the internal temperature without lifting the lid.)
6. Remove the meatballs from the sauce with a slotted spoon and put them into a shallow serving bowl. If there is visible fat on the top of the sauce, skim it off, and then taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if you like. Add the sauce to the meatballs in the bowl. Serve with bread on the side.
Good to know: Bocconcini are two-bite-size fresh mozzarella balls and ciliegine are one-bite, cherry-size balls. Either will work here. Best of all, use ciliegine or bocconcini that are marinated in herbs and olive oil—they are available at some grocery stores, Italian markets, or really anywhere that sells antipasti. But the unmarinated versions are great, too, and regular fresh mozzarella will work just fine as well—you’ll just have to take the time to cube it into bite-size pieces.
Holds well on warm through step 5 for a maximum of 3 hours • Prep time: 30 minutes • Slow-cook time: 4 hours • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 6- to 8-quart slow cooker
See photo.
Spiced Lamb Meatballs in Harissa Tomato Sauce
This combination of flavors—rich lamb, punchy harissa, warm spices—is one of my absolute favorites. The addition of spinach makes it a well-rounded meal, but you could skip the spinach entirely, or use another tender, quick-cooking green, such as arugula or baby kale.
MAKES 3 TO 4 SERVINGS
1 pound ground lamb
½ cup panko or toasted bread crumbs
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, beaten
1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced, or 3 tablespoons grated yellow or red onion
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint or flat-leaf parsley, plus more for topping
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon or 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
Kosher salt
One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons harissa, plus more for seasoning
5 ounces baby spinach (about 5 loosely packed cups; optional)
Polenta (about 1 cooked cup per person;) or crusty bread, for serving
1. Gently combine the lamb, bread crumbs, beaten egg and yolk, scallion, cumin, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, mint, lemon zest, garlic, and I teaspoon salt in a large bowl. The best way to do this is with your hands—you want everything to be thoroughly mixed but not overmixed, which makes for tough meatballs.
2. Put the tomatoes and harissa into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. With your hands or a fork, break up the tomatoes a little, but don’t worry about leaving some big chunks. Season the sauce with 1 teaspoon salt.
3. Form the meat mixture into meatballs a little bigger than a golf ball, about 8 meatballs total. Put them into the sauce and turn once to coat. Cook on LOW for 4 hours, or until the internal temperature is at least 160˚F when you check the middle of a meatball with an instant-read thermometer. (Or, better yet, stick a probe thermometer in a meatball before you start cooking so you can monitor the internal temperature without lifting the lid.)
4. Increase the heat to LOW if the slow cooker has auto-switched to warm. Stir in the spinach, if using, and cover and cook until wilted, about 8 minutes. Taste the sauce and stir in more harissa or salt if you want. Ladle the meatballs and sauce into bowls, top them with additional herbs, and serve them with polenta or bread.
Holds well on warm through step 3 for a maximum of 3 hours • Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 4 hours • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
A Note about Harissa
You might notice that I use a lot of harissa—a North African spice paste made of various peppers, olive oil, and garlic—especially in weeknight dinner recipes. That’s because I find it incredibly convenient: a spicy-but-not-too-spicy, garlicky-but-not-too-garlicky flavor boost that pairs beautifully with Middle Eastern–and Mediterranean-inspired dishes. You can find it in cans, tubes, and jars, and though different brands may vary in texture and heat level, any harissa you find will work in these recipes. Just taste it first to see how spicy it is and feel free to modify the quantity called for to suit your taste. You can find harissa in some grocery stores or on Amazon. My very favorite harissa brand, the best I have ever tasted, is made by New York Shuk (www.nyshuk.com), a small company run by an Israeli couple who now live and cook in New York. Their homemade harissa is a splurge, but it’s worth it.
This recipe is adapted from Floyd Cardoz’s wonderful cookbook One Spice, Two Spice. Cardoz uses spices in incredibly smart, unexpected combinations. This brisket, which Cardoz makes in the oven and I’ve rejiggered for the slow cooker, is vaguely reminiscent of classic Southern barbecue, but the sauce is deeper and more complex, almost bitter-edged but in a pleasant way. It gets its smokiness from the pasilla de Oaxaca chiles.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
2 dried pasilla de Oaxaca chiles
1 white onion, roughly chopped
8 garlic cloves, smashed
One 3-inch ginger knob, peeled and roughly chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Kosher salt
12 ounces Belgian ale or crisp pilsner, such as Duvel ale or Jever pilsner
2 cinnamon sticks
2 pounds brisket, excess fat trimmed
Corn bread, for serving
1. Put the dried chiles into a dry skillet over medium-high heat and toast, pressing them into the pan every now and then, and flipping them a few times, until they soften slightly and are fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Tear the chiles into pieces, discarding the stems and most of the seeds, and put the pieces into a blender. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, vinegar, sugar, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, mustard seeds, cumin, turmeric, cloves, and a generous pinch of salt. Pour in about half the beer, just enough to make it easy to puree the ingredients but not so much that it will foam over the top of the blender. Puree until smooth, stopping to stir, scrape down the blender, and add more beer if necessary.
3. Pour the pureed sauce into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Pour the rest of the beer into the blender and swish it around to loosen any sauce that’s sticking to the sides. Pour it into the slow cooker and add the cinnamon sticks. Pat the brisket dry and season it very generously on both sides with salt. Add it to the slow cooker and turn to coat it in the sauce. Cover and cook on LOW until tender, about 8 hours.
4. Remove the brisket with tongs and let it rest on a cutting board for a few minutes. Slice the brisket against the grain, place on a serving platter, and smother it with sauce. Serve with corn bread on the side.
Good to know: You can buy pasillas de Oaxaca at some Latin American markets or at worldspice.com. They are smokier, fruitier, and less hot than chipotles, but if you can’t find the pasillas, you can substitute 2 or 3 chipotles, either dried or from a can of chipotles in adobo. If you use the canned chiles, skip step 1 and just put the whole chiles in the blender.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 3 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 20 minutes • Slow-cook time: 8 hours • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker and a blender
This is one of my very favorite weeknight meals—the stew has a rich, complex depth of flavor thanks to the gochujang, a Korean chile paste made with fermented soybeans and glutinous rice. It renders everything it touches completely delicious.
It might seem fussy, but I add the kimchi in 2 batches here for a reason: As it cooks, the pickled cabbage gets mellow and sweet. Then, at the end, you stir in the last ½ cup of kimchi to get the bright, tangy note that’s been nearly cooked out of the first batch.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
One 16-ounce jar napa cabbage kimchi, chopped (about 2 cups chopped kimchi and 3 tablespoons kimchi juice)
1 pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2-inch chunks
½ cup gochujang, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar or raw sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
16 ounces dried or fresh ramen noodles, cooked to package directions and drained
4 soft- or medium-boiled eggs, halved
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal, for topping
Sliced nori seaweed, for topping
1. Set aside ½ cup of the chopped kimchi in the refrigerator. Combine the remaining kimchi and its juice with the pork, gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce, and 8 cups water in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook until the pork is very tender, 8 to 9 hours on LOW.
2. Shred the meat with 2 forks if you’d like, or leave it in chunks. Stir in the reserved kimchi. Taste for seasoning.
3. Divide the cooked noodles among 4 bowls and ladle the soup on top. Gently place 1 halved egg into each bowl, sprinkle scallions and nori on top, and serve.
Good to know: You can find gochujang at Korean groceries or on Amazon. Look for the wonderful Mother-in-Law’s brand, which offers several different varieties—like tangy, sesame, and garlic.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: 8 to 9 hours • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Soft- or Medium-Boiled Eggs
Bring a large saucepan of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Carefully drop in 4 to 6 eggs and boil for 6 minutes for completely liquid yolks or 8 minutes for medium yolks. Immediately transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water using a slotted spoon. Peel and eat or store unpeeled eggs in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Italian Wedding Soup with Sausage Meatballs and Kale
This is an excellent way to showcase the rich, deep flavor of Parmesan-Garlic Broth. You can use any kind of raw sausage that you like here—sweet or hot Italian pork or turkey sausage is great, but so is a broccoli rabe sausage if you can find it. (If you’d rather use fully cooked sausage, just slice it into coins, add them to the soup, and let them warm through.)
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow or red onion, diced
Kosher salt
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 large carrots, sliced
1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced, fronds reserved for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
8 cups Parmesan-Garlic Broth, Classic Chicken Stock, or low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound raw Italian sausage, squeezed out of its casing
1 bunch of kale (8 to 10 ounces), stemmed and chopped
Juice of ½ lemon, plus more if necessary
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and grated Parmesan, for topping
1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season generously with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, 8 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, and fennel, season again with salt, and cook until the vegetables are just softened, about 3 minutes. Season generously with pepper and scrape the vegetable mixture into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Pour in the broth. If your broth is unsalted, add ½ teaspoon salt. (If it is salted, don’t add more salt right now.) Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours.
2. Increase the heat to HIGH. Roll the sausage into bite-size meatballs and drop them into the slow cooker. Stir in the kale and the lemon juice. Cover and cook until the sausage is cooked through and the kale is tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Taste and add more salt, pepper, and lemon juice if you like. Serve the soup in bowls topped with the reserved fennel fronds, the parsley, and grated Parmesan.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 or step 2 for up to 2 hours • Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 7 hours • Finish time: 35 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Chipotle-Almond Braised Beef Tacos
This sauce is inspired by mole, the various fruit, nut, and chile-based sauces that are famously made in a rainbow of colors and flavors in Mexico, particularly Oaxaca state. This is my quickie, weeknight version that is not at all authentic but does have a complex savory-spicy-sweet flavor that is very reminiscent of proper moles. I’ve borrowed the pureed nuts, seeds, tortillas, and fruit from more traditional recipes—those ingredients lend richness and depth—and added convenient canned chipotles in adobo for smokiness and heat and Nutella for an almost imperceptible hint of sweetness and cocoa.
Braising the beef directly in the sauce seems like the natural thing to do, but the sauce loses its vibrancy when cooked for a long time. Cooking the beef separately and then tossing it with the sauce lets the beef get a nice brown crust and the sauce stay flavorful.
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
3½ pounds beef chuck roast, trimmed of big hunks of fat and cut into 2 big pieces (you can also use lamb or goat shoulder)
Kosher salt
1 corn tortilla, plus more warmed tortillas, about 2 per person, for serving
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
½ tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and chopped
½ white onion, chopped
¼ cup raisins
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 to 3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (1 for a relatively mild sauce, 3 for a fairly spicy sauce), plus 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 heaping tablespoons almond butter
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella
Crumbled queso fresco and pickled red onions, for serving
1. Put the beef into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker and season it very generously on all sides with salt. Cover and cook on LOW until the beef is tender, 8 to 10 hours.
2. Make the sauce: If you have a gas stove, put the tortilla directly over a burner set to medium. Let the tortilla get soft and charred in spots, about 30 seconds per side. Tear the tortilla into pieces and put the pieces into a food processor or blender. (If you don’t have a gas stove, just put the torn tortilla into the food processor or blender.)
3. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the garlic, apple, and onion. Season generously with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the raisins, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and oregano. Cook, stirring constantly, until the raisins are starting to soften and the spices are very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the chipotles with the adobo sauce and the vinegar and season generously with salt. Cook, stirring, until well combined, 1 minute.
4. Transfer the mixture to the food processor or blender with the tortilla and add the almond butter, chocolate-hazelnut spread, and ⅓ cup water. Process or blend the mixture until you have a smooth sauce. Taste it for seasoning and add more salt or vinegar if you like. At this point, you can also add another 1 or 2 more chipotles, if you played it safe at first but now think you would like more heat. Refrigerate until about 20 minutes before you want to eat. Take the sauce out of the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before serving so that it can come to room temperature (or heat it in the microwave in 20-second bursts until just barely warm; you don’t want it to cook).
5. Using tongs, lift the beef out of the slow cooker, leaving the fat and drippings behind, and place in a serving bowl or platter. Let the beef cool just enough to handle. Break up the beef into large, coarse pieces, using your hands or 2 forks. Pour the sauce over and toss to coat. Taste and season with salt if necessary. Serve the beef in the corn tortillas with queso fresco and pickled onion on top.
Good to know: You can make the sauce in the morning, when you put the beef in the slow cooker, or at night, right before you eat. Or you can make it up to two days ahead and store it in the refrigerator. I think that it tastes ever so slightly better if you make it ahead of time or in the morning so the flavors have a chance to deepen and mellow.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 1 for up to 2 hours • Prep time: 20 minutes • Slow-cook time: 8 to 10 hours • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Quick-Pickled Onions
I make these all the time and I don’t usually measure the ingredients. You really can’t mess them up. Thinly slice a small red onion and put it into a heatproof plastic container or nonreactive bowl. Bring about 1 cup of vinegar to a boil (I like cider vinegar but rice, white wine, or even regular white vinegar will work fine) in a nonreactive saucepan and stir in about 3 tablespoons sugar until dissolved (I tend to use granulated sugar, but you could also use honey or raw sugar) and a pinch of salt. Pour the boiling vinegar over the onions. The pickled onions are ready to use almost right away, as soon as they cool a bit, but they’re best after an hour or so. The pickles keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.
Orange, Olive, and Fennel Chicken Tagine
A tagine is a North African stew cooked in an earthenware pot of the same name, with a tall conical lid. Here, the slow cooker stands in for the tagine to make a warmly spiced chicken and vegetable braise.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1½ pounds)
Kosher salt
1 large red or yellow onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
One 4-inch ginger knob, peeled and grated (about ¼ cup)
2 large or 3 to 4 small carrots (8 to 10 ounces total), sliced ½ inch thick
1 large fennel bulb and stalks, cored and sliced, fronds reserved for serving
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup dry white wine
⅓ cup pitted, halved oil-cured olives
2 navel oranges
Juice of ½ lemon
Handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and couscous (about 1 cooked cup per person), for serving
1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Pat the chicken thighs dry and season them with salt on both sides. Carefully place the thighs in the hot oil skin side down and cook undisturbed, about 6 minutes, until the chicken skin is golden brown and crisp and some of the fat has rendered. At this point, the chicken thighs should release fairly easily from the pan—if they don’t, let them cook a few minutes longer—but you might need to scrape under them with a spatula to get them up. Transfer the chicken, skin up, to a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Leave the drippings in the skillet.
2. Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium or medium-low if the chicken drippings look like they’re starting to burn. Add the onion, season generously with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant and well combined, 1 minute. Add the carrots and fennel, season generously with salt, and cook, stirring, until the fennel just starts to soften, 2 minutes. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon and cook, stirring constantly, until all the ingredients are coated with the spices and the mixture is very fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the orange juice and wine, increase the heat to high, and cook until the liquid just starts to bubble, scraping up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a spoon or spatula.
3. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker with the chicken and scatter the olives over the top. Cover and cook on LOW until the chicken and vegetables are tender, about 4 hours.
4. Slice off the tops and bottoms of the oranges so they sit flat on your cutting board. Following the curve of the fruit, cut off all the peel and bitter white pith from the oranges and discard. Your oranges are now naked. Uncover the slow cooker. Holding the oranges over the slow cooker to catch the juice, cut between the membranes to release the segments into the tagine. Discard the membranes. (This is called “supreming” the orange, and the point of it is to have nice wedges of orange flesh without any chewy bits of membrane, pith, or peel. If you don’t feel like doing it, you can also just peel the oranges and chop the segments into bite-size pieces, then add them to the pot.) Squeeze the lemon juice into the tagine and stir in the chopped parsley and reserved fennel fronds. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Serve the tagine over cooked couscous.
Good to know: Any good-quality olive will work in this recipe, but I think oil-cured olives are worth seeking out. They’re richer and less tart than most olives, meaty-textured, and almost metallic-flavored, in a strangely addictive way. I love the way they pair with sweet flavors, like the orange segments that finish this dish.
Holds well on warm through step 3 for up to 1 hour Prep time: 30 minutes • Slow-cook time: 4 hours • Finish time: 10 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Turmeric Yogurt
The turmeric yogurt that’s served with Harissa Pork Chili with Toppings Galore is also delicious with this tagine. If you have time, just season 1 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt with ¾ teaspoon turmeric and a generous pinch of salt. Stir until the turmeric is evenly distributed and the yogurt has turned a lovely pale yellow. Serve it on the side so people can dollop some on their bowls of tagine.
Gingery Chicken and Shiitake Congee
Congee is a Chinese rice porridge that’s cooked low and slow until the rice is creamy and almost completely broken down. It’s a dish that plays to the slow cooker’s strengths. The finished congee is meant to be mild and comforting, an ideal dinner when you’re tired or under the weather. It hinges on two things: the quality of the chicken broth, which should be the best you can make or lay your hands on, and the toppings, which liven up the congee to your liking. (I think it’s best topped generously!)
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into thirds
Kosher salt
3 quarts (12 cups) Classic Chicken Stock or good-quality low-sodium chicken broth
1½ cups long-grain white rice, preferably jasmine
3 whole scallions, trimmed
8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps halved
3 garlic cloves, grated
One 3-inch ginger knob, peeled and grated (about 3 tablespoons), plus more for topping
Sliced trimmed scallions, for topping
Roasted salted peanuts, black vinegar, XO sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and/or chile oil, for topping
1. Season the chicken generously with salt. Combine the chicken, 1 to 2 more teaspoons salt (use 1 teaspoon if you’re using salted store-bought broth; 2 teaspoons if you’re using unsalted homemade broth), the stock, rice, whole scallions, mushrooms, garlic, and ginger in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on LOW until the rice is almost completely broken down, creamy, and glossy, about 6 hours.
2. Stir the congee and remove and discard the scallions. Season generously with salt to taste. Serve in bowls with freshly grated ginger and sliced scallions on top, plus the other toppings of your choice.
ALL-DAY
Holds (reasonably well) on warm through step 1 for up to 2 hours • Prep time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 6 hours • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Green Pozole with Pumpkin Seeds, Chicken, and Collards
Cilantro, roasted poblanos, and tomatillos make this traditional Mexican stew tangy and herbal, while the pumpkin seeds add rustic texture and richness. I like the collards here, because they get tender and sweet but not mushy when slow-cooked.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
6 garlic cloves
3 large poblano peppers, halved, stemmed, and seeded
2 jalapeños, stemmed and halved
1 large or medium white onion, quartered
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, including stems
1 pound tomatillos (about 8), husked, rinsed, and quartered
1 cup raw, hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Kosher salt
Three 15-ounce cans hominy, drained and rinsed
1 bunch of collard greens (about 10 ounces), stemmed and chopped
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
⅓ cup plain whole milk yogurt
Diced avocado, crumbled tortilla chips, and queso fresco, for topping
1. Preheat the broiler on high and position a rack 6 inches from the heat source (if that’s how your broiler is configured). Spread out the garlic, poblanos, jalapeños, and onion on a rimmed baking sheet, placing the chiles skin side up. Broil on high for 5 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are charred in spots and start to slump.
2. Put all the broiled vegetables into a blender and add the cilantro, tomatillos, pumpkin seeds, 1 tablespoon salt, and 5 cups water. If you can’t fit all the ingredients in your blender, work in batches. Puree until smooth.
3. Pour the puree into a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Stir in the hominy, collard greens, and chicken, cover, and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
4. Open the lid and coarsely shred the chicken with two forks. Stir in the yogurt. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Serve in bowls with the toppings.
Good to know: If you, like me, are one of the unlucky people who find cilantro soapy, you’ll be happy to know that pureeing magically deactivates the herb’s unpleasant taste, leaving just the fresh, aromatic flavors behind.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 3 for up to 2 hours • Prep time: 20 minutes • Slow-cook time: 6 hours • Finish time: 5 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Miso-Butter Roast Chicken and Potatoes
Slow-cooking a “roast” chicken yields moist, juicy meat but flabby skin—the easy fix is to run the carved chicken under the broiler to crisp the skin before serving. The miso-honey mixture that’s drizzled on before broiling helps the skin get deep caramelization, and it also reinforces the salty-sweet miso flavor you added in the beginning, which will have mellowed. You can serve this as a full meal on its own or add a side dish of spinach sautéed with a little ginger.
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup white or yellow miso paste
1½ pounds small new potatoes, halved
One 4- to 5-pound chicken
¼ cup honey
1 small bunch of chives, thinly sliced, for topping
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Preheat an empty 5- to 8-quart slow cooker on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes while you’re getting everything ready. Combine the butter and ½ cup of the miso in a medium bowl and mash them together to make a uniform mixture. Put the potatoes into the bottom of the slow cooker and add a small dollop of the miso butter; stir to coat. Season the potatoes lightly with salt. Pat the chicken dry and rub the remaining butter all over the chicken, and especially under the skin of the breasts directly on the breast meat: To do this, gently loosen the skin and separate it from the breast meat by sliding your fingers under the skin, then tuck some butter in there. Set the chicken on top of the potatoes.
2. Cover the slow cooker and reduce the heat to LOW. Cook for 5 to 6 hours (the larger the slow cooker, the shorter the cook time), until the chicken breast registers 160˚F internal temperature on an instant-read or probe thermometer when you check the top of the breast. Also check that the thickest part of the thigh and the juice in the cavity register at least 165˚F. Cooking the chicken much beyond these temperatures will result in dry meat, so this is a case when pulling out the thermometer really makes a difference.
3. Turn off and uncover the slow cooker and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler on high and position a rack 6 inches from the heat source (if that’s how your broiler works). Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. In a small bowl mix together the honey and remaining ¼ cup miso.
4. Using tongs slung through the cavity of the chicken and your hands to support it, carefully transfer the chicken from the slow cooker to a cutting board, leaving the drippings behind. Remove the potatoes from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and put them on the prepared baking sheet. Carve the chicken and put the pieces on the baking sheet skin side up. Drizzle the chicken all over with the miso-honey mixture, then broil the potatoes and chicken until the chicken skin is caramelized and crisp, dark golden brown, about 5 minutes. (Don’t walk away; the skin will burn quickly because of the sugar in the honey.)
5. Put the chicken pieces and potatoes on a serving platter (or leave them on the baking sheet and serve them straight from that) and drizzle a little juice from the slow cooker over the whole thing. Top with chives and serve with lemon wedges.
Holds on warm through step 2 for up to 30 minutes • Prep time: 10 minutes • Slow-cook time: 5 to 6 hours • Finish time: 20 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Luxury Chicken Breasts with Herb Aioli
Very slow, gentle poaching in herb-infused olive oil turns chicken breasts extremely juicy and flavorful, with a firm but velvety texture. You then use the herbed poaching oil to make a quick creamy aioli and serve it with the chicken. It’s as lush and over the top as chicken breast can possibly get.
This recipe has several steps, but they’re all very easy and hands-off. You can also poach the chicken and make the aioli ahead of time and serve it chilled.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
¼ cup fine table salt
¼ cup sugar
1 lemon, quartered
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
3 cups extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
1 rosemary sprig
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of ½ lemon
Green salad and bread, for serving
1. In a large bowl or gallon-size zip-top bag, combine 5 cups cold water with the table salt, sugar, and 2 of the lemon quarters. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar, then add the chicken. Seal the container or bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
2. Meanwhile, in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the oil, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary sprigs, peppercorns, and the remaining 2 lemon quarters. Cover and cook on LOW until the oil registers 200˚F on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour. If you want to let the oil infuse more deeply, or if you want to start the recipe in the morning and finish it later, set the oil to cook on LOW for 1 hour and let it switch to WARM for up to 7 hours. Increase the heat to low and bring the oil back up to 200˚F before proceeding.
3. Pull the chicken from the brine with tongs, pat it dry with a paper towel, and carefully place it in the oil. (Discard the brine.) Cook for about 40 minutes on LOW, until the thickest part of the chicken registers 155˚F on a probe or instant-read thermometer. (It’s very important to cook to temperature for this dish because if the chicken overcooks at all, it won’t be nearly as lush and velvety. The very easiest way to do this is to use a probe thermometer: Just stick it in the thickest part of one chicken breast, close the lid, and set the thermometer to alarm when it hits 155˚F.)
4. Using tongs, remove the chicken, lemon, herbs, and garlic cloves from the oil and set the chicken on a cutting board to rest, tented with foil. You need one of the cooked garlic cloves for the aioli. You can save the other aromatics for garnish or discard them.
5. Ladle out 1 cup of the infused oil, carefully tipping the insert to get oil without peppercorns in it. Let the oil cool slightly until you can put your finger in it comfortably, about 10 minutes.
6. To make the aioli, in a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup combine the egg yolks, kosher salt, the lemon juice, and the reserved cooked garlic clove. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until light and a little frothy, about 1 minute. (If you don’t have an immersion blender you can also make the aioli in a regular blender using the same process.) Add the cooled oil a tablespoon at a time, making sure each tablespoon of oil is incorporated before adding more. Go slowly, though at the end the aioli will be more stable and you can add the oil a little faster. Repeat until all the oil is incorporated and you have a lovely, thick aioli.
7. Slice the chicken thickly, crosswise against the grain. Serve the chicken with the aioli and a green salad and good bread on the side.
Good to know: Strain the leftover infused oil and refrigerate it in a sealed container. Use it within 1 week to sauté chicken or vegetables, make chicken soup, or fry eggs.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 2 for up to 7 hours • Prep time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes infusing the poaching oil in the slow cooker) • Finish time: 15 minutes • Slow-cook time: 40 minutes • Equipment: 4- to 6-quart slow cooker
Instead of cooking the duck legs in duck fat, as you would for a traditional confit, here you confit in butter, which is cheaper, easier to find, and just as delicious. I’ve adapted the idea from the blog Alexandra’s Kitchen. There is no way to mess this up: The duck legs just slowly bubble away in their own fat and the melted butter. (Don’t worry, you’re not going to end up eating all that fat, as very little is absorbed into the meat—the buttery flavor, though, is abundant.) The result is silky, rich meat and, once you sear it, crackly skin. It’s incredibly delicious, and just as good as the more labor-intensive original. If you do happen to have duck fat on hand, feel free to substitute it for some or all of the butter.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
4 duck legs (about 2 pounds, but this recipe will work with any size legs)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 thyme sprigs
3 garlic cloves, halved
Green salad and bread, for serving
1. Optional (but recommended) dry brine: Put the duck legs into a sealable container, pat them dry, and rub them all over with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and lots of pepper. Refrigerate overnight.
2. Set the duck legs in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker—no need to pat them dry again or remove the brine, and it’s fine if they overlap. If you haven’t done the overnight dry brine, pat the legs dry and season them generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Pour the melted butter over the top and add the thyme and garlic. Cover and cook for 8 hours on LOW.
3. Pull the duck legs out of the fat with tongs. (Strain the thyme and garlic from the fat and discard them, then pour the fat into a container, refrigerate it for up to 2 weeks, and keep it for other uses, like roasting potatoes.) Put the duck legs skin side down into a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Crisp the legs on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Serve them with your favorite salad and a hunk of bread, or use them in Duck Confit, Escarole, and Fennel Salad with Clementines or The DLT.
Good to know: If you’re not going to eat the duck legs right away, you can store them like a traditional confit, covered in their fat in the fridge. Simply put the duck into a container and pour the fat over the top, making sure that all the duck is covered by fat. Cover the container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Then just pull the legs out of the fat and crisp them in a skillet before eating, as described in step 3.
ALL-DAY
Holds well on warm through step 2 for up to 3 hours • Prep time: 5 minutes plus optional overnight brine • Slow-cook time: 8 hours • Finish time: 15 minutes • Equipment: 5- to 8-quart slow cooker
Duck Confit, Escarole, and Fennel Salad with Clementines
This is a great way to serve duck confit when you want something a little light and bright–winter salad at its best. The sharp and citrusy ingredients balance the duck’s richness beautifully.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Buttery Duck Confit or 4 store-bought confit duck legs
4 clementines
1 escarole head, torn into large pieces
1 small fennel bulb, cored and very thinly sliced, preferably on a mandoline, a few fronds reserved for topping
1 small shallot, minced
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
Kosher salt
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ bunch of chives, thinly sliced, for topping
1. Scoop the duck confit out of its fat if it has been stored in the fridge. (If you’ve just made it, simply proceed from here.) Put the duck legs skin side down into a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Crisp the legs on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Zest 1 clementine into a large liquid measuring cup, then peel all 4 clementines and thinly slice them crosswise (through the equator). In a serving bowl, combine the sliced clementines, escarole, and fennel.
3. Add the shallot, vinegar, orange juice, mustard, honey, and 1 teaspoon salt to the measuring cup with the zest and whisk to combine. Whisk in the oil.
4. Drizzle the dressing over the salad sparingly and toss to coat the salad evenly. Coarsely shred the duck meat and the crisp skin and add it to the salad. (Discard the bones.) Toss again. Taste and add more salt and/or more dressing if necessary. Top with the chives and reserved fennel fronds.
Total time: 30 minutes
The DLT
(aka Duck, Lettuce, and Tomato; aka the Most Delicious Sandwich in the World)
MAKES 4 SANDWICHES
Scoop 4 legs Buttery Duck Confit out of the fat if they have been stored in the fridge. (If you’ve just made the confit, simply proceed from here.) Put the duck legs skin side down into a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Crisp the legs on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside to let cool a bit. Meanwhile, toast 8 slices of good white bread and spread them with mayonnaise. On the 4 bottom slices of bread, layer thick slices of ripe, in-season tomato and then season with salt. Add green- or red-leaf lettuce. Coarsely shred the duck meat and skin and discard the bones. Pile a serving of duck on each of the sandwiches and top each with the second piece of bread (you may have some duck left over).
Total time: 15 minutes
