Cookbook 98: Cook it Slow

The Australian Women’s Weekly Cook It Slow was a birthday present to Scott from me, after he saw it at Dymocks when we were killing time between things.  And because it is a cookbook and is on my shelves, I cooked from it, and it was good.

Being a recent Australian Women’s Weekly cookbook, it has been thoroughly tested (triple tested according to the cover) and so has clear instructions, all the ingredients are correct, the methodology works, and the results are tasty.  The book is divided into several chapters, Everyday Weeknights, Freezer Friendly and Special Occasions – each of these are broken into subchapters, For the Slow Cooker, For the Stove and For the Oven.  I don’t have a slowcooker (currently), so my focus is on the stove and oven dishes for now.

There are a range of meat dishes, some desserts (see pudding recipe below), and some vegetable accompaniments – so a full range of food can be provided.   I really enjoyed the meal I made, I will definitely be coming back to this book in the cooler weather.  Overall I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 1.6kg whole chicken
• 20g butter, melted
• 20 vine-ripened truss cheery tomatoes (400g)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Couscous Stuffing:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup couscous
• 1/2 cup roasted slivered almonds
• 1 cup pitted dried dates, chopped finely
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 egg, beaten lightly

Method:

1. Make couscous stuffing: Heat oil in a small frying pan; cook onion, stirring, until soft.  Combine stock, oil, rind and juice in a medium saucepan; bring to the boil.  Remove from heat.  Add couscous, cover; stand 5 minutes or until stock is absorbed, fluffing with fork occasionally.  Stir in onion, nuts, dates, spices and egg.
2. Preheat oven to 200C
3. Wash chicken under cold water; pat dry inside and out with absorbent paper.  Fill large cavity loosely with couscous stuffing; tie legs together with kitchen strong.  Place chicken on an oiled wire rack over a large baking dish; half fill with water.  Brush butter all over chicken; roast, uncovered, 15 minutes.
4. Reduce oven to 180C; roast, uncovered, further 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through.  Remove chicken from rack; cover, stand 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, place tomatoes on oven tray; drizzle with oil. Roast, uncovered, 20 minutes or until softened and browned.
6. Serve chicken with tomatoes.

Notes on this recipe:

• You’ll end up with WAY more stuffing than you need.  You can serve the additional stuffing alongside the chicken, but as it has raw egg in it, it’d be better to serve it cold.
• This is really tasty, and the chicken is so very moist and tender by the end of the cooking process.

Garlicky Beans with Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

• 400g green beans, trimmed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove thinly sliced garlic
• 1 tablespoons roasted, chopped pine nuts

Method:

1. Boil, steam or microwave the beans until just tender; drain.  Add beans to a large bowl of iced water; drain well.  Place in a large bowl.
2. Heat olive oil and garlic in a small frying pan over low heat until garlic just changes colour.  Add the pine nuts; stir until heated through.  Drizzle garlic mixture over beans.  Season to taste.

Notes on this recipe:

• I used a lot of garlic, it was very garlicky.  This is not a bad thing.
• This wasn’t a bad way to have beans, it certainly made them more interesting than you’d normally expect.

Steamed Ginger Pudding

Ingredients:

• 60g butter
• 1/4 cup golden syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg

Syrup

• 1/3 cup golden syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 30g butter

Method:

1. Grease a 1.25 litre pudding steamer
2. Stir butter and syrup in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth.  Remove from heat, stir in soda; transfer mixture to a medium bowl.  Stir in sifted dry ingredients then combined milk and egg, in two batches.
3. Spread mixture into steamer.  Cover with pleated baking paper and foil; secure with the lid.
4. Place pudding steamer in a large saucepan with enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the steamer; cover pan with a tight-fitting lid.  Boil for 1 hour, replenishing water as necessary to maintain level.  Stand pudding for 5 minutes before turning onto plate.
5. Meanwhile, make syrup: Stir ingredients in a small saucepan over heat until smooth; bring to the boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes.
6. Serve pudding topped with syrup.

Notes on this recipe:

• My pudding steamer comes with a silicon sealed lid so no need for paper and foil in my set up.
• This pudding was delightful and I have had multiple requests to make it again.  I am seriously considering doing so, it’s not too complicated and yet is delicious.