Keep the lid on: During cooking, steam condenses on the lid of the slow cooker, then trickles back into the pot, helping to retain heat and reduce strong cooking smells. Make sure that the lid is placed centrally on the cooking pot. Unless a recipe tells you to stir a dish part-way through cooking, it should be left undisturbed and you should avoid lifting the lid. If you do need to lift the lid during cooking other than when specified in a recipe (to add a forgotten ingredient, for instance), add an extra 10-15 minutes to the cooking time to make up for the heat loss.
Don't overfill the pot: Allow a 5 cm/2 in distance between the food and top of the ceramic cooking pot, particularly with food that requires simmering such as soups and casseroles.While all of the recipes here follow this (if cooked in a two-portion sized slow cooker), bear this in mind if you decide to double the ingredients in a recipe for entertaining or for freezing in individual portions.
Use alcohol sparingly: Alcohol evaporates more slowly in the slow cooker, so use only a small amount or the flavour may be overpoweringly alcoholic.
Cook root vegetables at the bottom: Onions and root vegetables such as carrots take longer to cook than meat as the liquid simmers rather than boils.These should be cut into smallish, even-sized chunks before adding to the cooking pot. If possible, place them at the bottom of the cooking pot, which is the hottest part, and make sure they are completely immersed in liquid.
Add onions while you prepare ingredients: In many of the recipes in this book, the onions are added with hot stock and the slow cooker switched on while you are measuring and preparing the rest of the ingredients. This allows the onions to warm through and starts the cooking process.-
Add other vegetables at the end: Vegetables with a high water content such as pumpkins and courgettes (zucchini) will cook quickly, so add them towards the end of cooking time, or place them towards the top of the cooking pot rather than nearer the base, where the temperature is higher.-
Defrost frozen vegetables: It is preferable for frozen vegetables to be thawed before adding, but it isn't essential. If time allows, defrost them in the fridge for several hours or overnight or spread them out on kitchen paper (paper towels) at room temperature. If adding frozen vegetables, the dish will take a little longer to cook than if thawed ones are used.
Use easy-cook rice: Ordinary long-grain rice doesn't cook well in the slow cooker, but easy-cook (converted) rice, also known as ‘parboiled', will cook to perfection. It has been steamed under pressure, ensuring the grains remain separate and making it difficult to overcook. Easy-cook brown and easy-cook basmati rice are also readily available.
Choose durum wheat pasta: When cooking pasta in the slow cooker, choose dried pasta made from 100 per cent durum wheat as it will retain its shape and texture better than egg pasta. Fresh pasta does not cook successfully.
Check the pot size: When cooking pâtés, cakes or desserts in tins or dishes in the slow cooker, always make sure first that they will fit as most cooking pots taper slightly towards the base. Place the tin or dish on an upturned saucer or a metal pastry (paste) cutter, so that the simmering water can circulate underneath and all around.
Choose when to add your herbs: Fresh herbs added at the beginning of long cooking will lose their colour, texture and pungency. Use dried herbs at the start of cooking and add fresh ones towards the end.