is the author of the bestselling Everyone Can Cook series of cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday. If there is a cooking issue that has you scratching your head, send your question to Eric by email at eakis@timescolonist. com, by fax to Ask Eric at 250380-5353 or by regular mail to Ask Eric, sa国际传媒, 2621 Douglas St., V8T 4M2
Q You have a cookbook out on slow cooking, so I'm thinking you'd probably have an answer to my question. Why does everything I make in a slow cooker end up tasting bland and blah? I follow slow cooker recipes and they sound so yummy in print, but by the time the food gets to the plate it doesn't look very appetizing. I long for one good slow cooker recipe with chicken that I can depend on.
Linda
AI, too, used to think everything cooked in a slow cooker tastes bland. I had not tried cooking with one, but I noted the watery-tasting creations at potluck dinner parties.
My attitude changed a few years ago when my wife came home with one, around the same time readers were asking me for recipes using the device. Slow cookers, invented in the 1970s, were becoming popular again.
Reluctantly, I gave it a try, made beef chili and it tasted great. Not long after that my cookbook publisher asked if I would be interested in publishing a book called Everyone Can Cook Slow Cooker Meals. I agreed and before I knew it, I went from having never used a slow cooker to using two of them each day, for several months, to test recipes.
It was hard work - so many of the recipes I tested were really blah.
Once I completely understood how a slow cooker worked, I knew I couldn't get the same results as I would from cooking in a wok, roaster or casserole.
Slow cookers comprise a metal container with a heating element and a ceramic cooking pot. The element heats the pot but does not touch it, preventing food from sticking and burning.
The food reaches a food safe temperature of 85 C to 138 C (185 F and 280 F) depending on the setting.
As the food cooks, steam rises, hits the lid and falls back on the food, preventing it from drying out, even after hours of cooking.
That moisture dripping on the food will dilute the taste of the things you add to the pot, such as stock, tomato sauce, spices and herbs.
In fact, the dish you are cooking can actually increase in volume as it cooks, quite different from simmering, reducing and concentrating the flavour of a sauce on the stovetop.
In older slow cooker cookbooks, you would see cooking times of 10 or more hours. Most often it wasn't because the stewing beef or other ingredients took that long to cook; it was because the idea of a slow cooker was that you turned it on the morning, say 8 a.m., went to work, came home at 6 p.m. and dinner would be ready.
Unfortunately, if food simmers that long, and the recipe wasn't well thought out, it will be overcooked, not visually appealing and taste like water was a key ingredient. The truth is, most dishes, from curry to soups to stews, will take only four to eight hours to cook. Luckily, most modern slow cookers have a warming mode the machine will switch to once the cooking time has elapsed, which keeps the food at a lower, but still very safe temperature until you're ready to eat it.
With my book, I tried to use ingredients I knew would add a world of flavour even if diluted in the steamy environment. In today's definitely not bland and blah Durbanstyle chicken curry, that meant adding things such as ginger, garlic, coconut milk, crushed tomatoes and a generous amount of curry powder. The sauce mixture that goes over the chicken is quite thick, but thins out to a nice consistency as the chicken cooks.
DURBAN-STYLE CHICKEN CURRY
The South African city of Durban is famous for its red-hued curries, introduced to the area by Indian immigrants. Serve the nicely spiced chicken with a steamed green vegetable, basmati rice, naan bread and chutney. This chicken recipe was designed for an oval-shaped slow cooker with a 4 1 ?2-to 6 1 ?2-litre capacity.
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 6 hours, 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
8 chicken thighs
1?2 tsp paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp peeled, chopped fresh ginger
1-2 Tbsp hot curry powder
1 (14 oz/398 mL) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz/398 mL) can regular or light coconut milk
1 Tbsp golden brown sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or sliced green onion
Place the oil in a large skillet set over mediumhigh heat. Sprinkle and rub the chicken with the paprika and salt and pepper. Brown the thighs, in batches if needed, on both sides and place in your slow cooker. Drain off most of the fat from the skillet, add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute more. Mix in the crushed tomatoes, coconut milk and brown sugar.
Combine lime juice and cornstarch in a small bowl to dissolve the cornstarch. Stir this into the coconut milk mixture, bring to a simmer and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on the low setting for 6 hours, or until the chicken is very tender. Sprinkle servings of the chicken with cilantro or green onion. Eric's options: For a milder curry, use mild or medium curry powder instead of the hot.
SPICE ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS CORRECTION
This recipe from Eric's Oct. 26 column is reprinted in its corrected form:
A medium to large pumpkin should yield about 1 1/2 cup of seeds, the amount called for in this recipe. If you're carving more than one pumpkin, this recipe could easily be expanded.
Before using, be sure the seeds are cleaned in cold water, are free of any stringy bits and are thoroughly dried.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 cups
1 1/2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp Cajun spice or mild or medium curry powder, or to taste (see Note)
Salt to taste (optional; see Note)
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place seeds, oil and Cajun spice or curry powder in a bowl and toss to combine. Spread the seeds in a single layer on the baking sheet; sprinkle with salt, if desired. Roast, stirring once or twice, for 15 to 20 minutes (a little longer if like yours quite crispy), until nicely toasted.
Note: Cajun spice is sold in the bottled spice and herb aisle of most supermarkets. It sometimes contains salt. If it does, you won't have to add salt to the pumpkin seeds.
