All in good TIME
FOR ME, COOKING and comfort have always been linked. There’s nothing more therapeutic than a pot of delicious food gently bubbling away on a low heat for a few hours on a wintry Sunday afternoon.
There is much to be said about the convenience of cooking hearty, wholesome recipes. They may take time to cook, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are difficult or time consuming to prepare. I’ve designed this book so that you can control how much attention you give each recipe, by including both conventional and slow-cooker instructions. This makes preparing meals easy, with maximum reward for minimal effort.
The true appeal of slow cooking is the one-pot concept, which means less washing up, big-batch cooking and freezer-friendly meals. You can choose to cook these recipes in a traditional vessel like a heavy-based casserole, cast-iron pot, ovenproof saute pan or even a baking dish – or set and forget, leaving the dish to cook unattended in that clever kitchen appliance, the slow cooker. The ease of switching on a slow cooker just before you leave in the morning is so gratifying, knowing you will come home to a beautiful meal.
This is an edited extract from The Slow Cook by Justine Schofield, (Plum, $39.99), Photography by Rob Palmer.
LAMB SHANK PIES
MAKES 4
4 lamb shanks, French-trimmed1 tbs olive oil1 onion, finely chopped1 carrot, finely chopped1 celery stalk, finely chopped300g button mushrooms, quartered2 garlic cloves, chopped1 rosemary sprig1 star anise1 tbs tomato paste2 cups (500ml) red wine4 cups (1L) beef stock375g good-quality butter puff pastry, rolled out to 3mm thick1 egg, whisked3 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, chopped
