Slow cooking is like waving a culinary magic wand. Cheaper cuts of knife resistant, sinewy meat transform into something silky and tender as they gently burble away in an aromatic bath of your choice. Up until recently, I used my Le Creuset and a low oven to slow cook lamb shanks, stewing beef, brisket and the like. Then a couple of years ago, I spotted a slow cooker in the summer sales and thought how perfect it would be for making dishes overnight or during the day so that there was something gorgeous for dinner to come home to. But truth be told, I haven’t been too adventurous with it; my best thing is making chicken stock in it with the remains of a carcass but that is all set to change with the publication of a new book, “Slow Cooked” by fellow South Londoner and blogger, Miss South, which I was sent to review.
Miss South has a passion for cooking good food on a very tight budget. She won the Young British Foodies Food Writing award in September 2013 for her blog North/South Food, which she writes with her brother Mister North. She has also written for Observer Food Monthly as well as appearing on The Food Programme on Radio 4. With these sort of credentials, you just know that you are in for a treat when it comes to her book. It is packed full of 200 delicious sounding recipes which cover meat, poultry and fish, soups, vegetables and legumes, cakes, puddings and preserves too, all made in the slow cooker.
After her first few attempts to cook in the slow cooker, Miss South found that the results were watered down as liquid does not get a chance to evaporate so she set about cutting back on the liquid and amping up on the spicing to get the recipes to work. Recipes like Carbonnade which have mustard croutons pressed into it for the last hour or so; Butter Beans with Chorizo where the dried beans are cooked without soaking. There are some lovely photos at the beginning of the book but none with the recipes themselves, however the recipes sound so good that I didn’t even register the lack of photos.
Having tried a few of the recipes in the book, I found that I needed to rev the up seasoning and spicing a little. I’m not sure if that’s a matter of personal taste or if perhaps my herbs and spices lost some of their potency during the extended cooking period but it is just a matter of tasting and adjusting as you go along.
We thoroughly enjoyed the results of slow cooking chicken thighs which had been marinated overnight in a mixture of tahini, lemon and garlic. I added a little sumac and paprika to the original recipe to boost it’s flavour and served the juicy shredded chicken in wraps with tzatziki, harissa oil, and shredded lettuce. There are lots of lovely recipes and brilliant ideas as well as some very useful information about the foundations of slow cooking that make this book a must have for anyone who already uses their crock frequently or for those who would like to start. My next stop is the pudding chapter….
Do take a look at what a few other bloggers had to say about the book and see what they cooked up too. The reviews are on the Happy Foodie site – http://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/articles/the-slow-cooked-challenge
Garlicky Tahini Chicken
Adapted from Slow Cooked by Miss South who describes this as “a dinner party-friendly take on chicken kebab with garlic sauce.”
INGREDIENTS
- 12 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
- 6 chicken thighs on the bone
- 4 Tbsp tahini
- 3 – 6 Tbsp water
- juice of one lemon
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 tsp paprika
- salt and pepper
- chopped fresh coriander leaves
To serve
- Wraps/tortillas
- Shredded lettuce
- Greek yoghurt or tzatziki
- 1 tsp Harissa paste, loosened with some olive oil
- sliced avocados, chopped tomatoes, sliced cucumber – optional but delicious
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the garlic in a small pan of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and when cool enough to handle, slip the skins off.
- In the meantime, remove the skin and any fat from the chicken thighs; slash the flesh a couple of times.
- The tahini should be the consistency of pouring cream so thin it out with as much of the water as you need to.
- Whizz or pound together the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, sumac, paprika and some salt and pepper. Taste it and adjust the seasoning if necessary then spread it over the chicken, getting into the slashes and leave it to marinate, covered, in the fridge for up to 24 hours. I did mine overnight.
- When you are ready to cook, place the chicken pieces and the marinade in the crock and cook on low for 7 hours. The oil from the tahini bastes the chicken and keeps it really tender.
- Shred the tender chicken into a serving dish, discarding the bones. Taste the marinade, adjust the seasoning if necessary and pour this over the chicken and sprinkle with coriander leaves.
Note – if you don’t have a slow cooker then you can make this in the oven. Place the marinated chicken and the marinade in a roasting tin and cover tightly with foil and cook for 1.5 hours at 160C. Then remove the foil and cook for another 15 mins until tender and falling off the bone.
Serve hot with warm wraps/tortillas and all the fixings.
Any left-overs, re-heat beautifully.
My mouth is absolutely watering but this is definitely a weekend dish with all of that garlic! I similarly find that slow cooking food mellows out the spices so you almost have to over-spice for a balanced end result…Anyway, must try this soon!
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Hi Mandi – glad to hear that you found that spices mellow out in the slow cooker too! I’ve got to say that it is the same with the garlic in this instance – simmering them until soft and then slow cooking them for 7 hours renders the flavour so mellow – a bit like roasting the cloves does.
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It looks super awesome Selma !! <3
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Thanks Andy!
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Love all those flavours!!!! You’re a flavour master xx
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Hah! I prefer to refer to myself as the Queen of Herbs as I was buying bouquets of them from the ethnic shops looong before Jamie Oliver hit our screen! There is nothing like herbs and spices to amp up the flavours as well you know!
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I do indeed xxx
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It looks fabulous Selma… :-)
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Thank you – it was!
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By the way, I don’t have a crock pot so can I cook this in a standard oven?
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You can absolutely use the oven but it wont need as long to cook!! Cover in foil and cook for 1.5 hrs then uncover for final 15 or twenty mins. Probably at 160 degrees…
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Excellent! Thank you xx
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Reblogged this on foodbod and commented:
A dish full of fabulous flavours..
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Very interesting combination of flavours Selma. i like that you added tahini to the chicken. can imagine the taste :)
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It worked out really well – a great idea from Miss South, whose book I got the recipe from!
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Yet another fantastic recipe Selma! Looks and sounds amazing!
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Thanks Fari! I can see that yo have done one too – need to come over and take a look….
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Drooling right now!
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It was delicious!
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Wow, Selma, I love this recipe. I’d probably have to spice up those recipes as well. Just love spices in dishes. :) And thanks for the tip to make this in the oven, I don’t have a slow cooker myself. :)
Have a lovely weekend, Selma.
BTW, I’m longing to go back to London already. So beware, I might turn up at your doorstep again. :)
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Oh, TIna, I do hope you will come soon! It would be so lovely to see you again xx
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That sounds really tasty… And the pudding chapter intrigues me!
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Me too, Karinna! There is even a recipe for a Christmas Pud in there, which makes so much sense and doesn’t require watching that the double boiler doesn’t run dry…
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If all of the recipes in that cookbook sound as good as this chicken dish, I think the author has a hit on her hands. Great flavors and it looks so delicious, Selma.
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Thank you Nancy – she has some really good ideas and unusual recipes (for a slow cooker) in the book.
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You had me at ‘tahini chicken’ :) What a delicious sounding combination, and it would be actually a really easy week night meal if you marinated the night before…
Beck
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Thanks Beck – when I saw the recipe, I just knew that I had to try it – really easy to do as long as you remember to marinate the night before!
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wow, it seems delicious! Thanks for sharing one of the recipe of the book with us!
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My pleasure! There are some really nice recipes in it.
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This recipe looks so warm and delicious! I love that it is simple to do.
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Julie, it is SO simple. Not sure it could get any easier really and what a great lot of flavour pay off too!
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Mmm, I love the slightly sweet taste of tahini – this sounds right up my street!
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Thanks – it was delicious!
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A great recipe Selma, I like that it is cooked in the slow cooker. The spices that you added to heat it up a bit are great. I liked that you marinated it overnight with tahini, lemon and garlic, it had to definitely have added some zip to it. A must-try recipe for sure. I do love my slow cooker! :)
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Yum Selma, delicious!!! Love slow cooking, this sounds so flavorful.
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Hi Suzanne – it really was very flavourful. I love this time of year for slow cooking..
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This sounds good – your edits to the recipe are right up my alley, will try and make this!
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Thanks so much, Sarah, you must let me know what you think if you make it.
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Wow, Selma! I can only imagine how delicious this dish is, cooked slowly with all the ingredients fused together. I love it rapped in tortilla with greens too. :P
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Thanks so much Fae – it’s so easy to do and I really like the contrast in textures between all the ingredients for the wrap.
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Isn’t the slow cooker just a great invention? I usually pull mine out this time of year to make all day chili or bean soups and even roasted meats with vegs. Slow cooking is a concept that comes and goes in and out of food fashion it seems. I worked on a slow cooker cooking book this past year that was a big seller on Amazon which was lots of fun. Your meal is delicious looking and I will look for this book in my local bookstore. Great post Selma.
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It really is a great invention, Teresa. I feel that I haven’t used it properly – mainly because I am not organised enough and more used to shopping little and often so that I cook on the spur rather than plan ahead. I love that you work on all these wonderful sounding books and magazines – you are so talented Teresa.
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Delicious Selma! The pictures are totally mouthwatering. Will have to give that one a try. Margot x
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Hi Margot – thanks so much for your kind words. I love the sound and the look of the buns you made and plan to make them this weekend.
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This sounds amazing!! I love slow cooks. The colours are fabulous as well.
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Thanks so much – it’s really easy to make and easier to eat!!
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OMG Selma…. this recipe let me astonished! This chicken must to be unforgettable! I’ve marked the recipe, I’d like to find some time and give it a try!
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Thanks so much for your kind words!! You must let me know what you think if and when you make it. x
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I have a huge bottle of tahini in my pantry right now, begging to be used. This sounds delicious although I don’t have sumac but i think I can get it at my local Bulk Barn store. Will give you a feedback. Have a lovely day!!!
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Liz, the sumac is my addition so make it without or substitute a bit more lemon or some smoked paprika perhaps.
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This sounds wonderful and I already have most of the ingredients in the pantry. I haven’t had much luck with slow cookers except for beans and chili. Someone else said that everything seems to taste the same, it’s true with me as well. This one I will have to try though.
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mention tahini and I am all ears! :)
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Thanks Angie – it’s a great recipe and a great use of tahini too!
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Sounds absolutely delicious – I cannot wait to try this!!!
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Thanks so much – I have been reading your posts but like a lurker, not said a word – I will from now on! Thanks for following me too :)
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Oooh Selma! This is an absolute beauty. Wat are you doin to me. I need this now. I luv sandwiches with Mediterranean touch.
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This is such a great way to cook chicken, Sadia! Sorry to drive you crazy – lol!
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This has to be at least 5 of my very favorite things, in my very favorite kitchen appliance. This needs to happen chez nous, soon.
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I have to admit to having a love/hate relationship with the slow cooker. I have found that it suits my palate better to start things off in it, but then remove the liquid and reduce it down or add it to a sauce I have prepared on the hob/stovetop. For instance, I cooked dried butter beans with water and a bay leaf for 8 hours then, sautéed some onions, rosemary, garlic and chorizo, added tomato paste and lots of smokey paprika, ladled in some of the bean cooking liquid, reduced it and stirred it through the beans and cooked for another hour. It was fabulous with no loss or dulling of flavour which I find is what I don’t like about the slow cooker…I probably need to experiment more!
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Selma, totally agreed – the slow cooker does tend to mush everything together…but my relationship will always tend to the love side. I’m not sure how else we’d have home cooked meals so often…hard to balance everything and still get something (relatively) healthy on the table!
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