TAKE IT SLOW 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. I adore it so much it felt only natural that my next book would be a compilation of all my favourite slow-cooked dishes. The ritual of slow cooking is at the heart of how I fell in love with food, with most of my repertoire stemming from my French roots. My mumma Françoise and my grandmother Mémé instilled in me the art of cooking homestyle dishes that are steeped in tradition – and it’s this culinary legacy that I’m always eager to share with you. A lot of French dishes are based on the fundamentals of slow cooking: braising, stewing, poaching and roasting. Think beef bourguignon a red wine beef stew, chicken slowly cooked with mushrooms and finished with cream, or a vibrant ratatouille. Mmmm, mouth-watering … It’s no wonder I’m so passionate about this style of cooking. Slow cooking also forms the basis for many other cultures’ cuisines. In this book you’ll find some of my most-loved slow-cooked dishes from Morocco to Italy, Japan across to America. These recipes, even if they’re new to you, will give you the warm, fuzzy feeling of coming home. There is much to be said about the convenience of cooking hearty, wholesome recipes like these. 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 helps make preparing meals easy, with maximum reward for minimal effort. The true appeal of slow cooking is the one-pot concept, which means not only less washing up but also big-batch cooking and freezerfriendly meals. Most of these recipes can be easily doubled so there will always be enough for leftovers to store in airtight containers in 24
the freezer for up to three months. You can choose to cook these recipes the conventional way – in a traditional vessel like a heavy-based casserole dish, cast-iron pot, ovenproof sauté pan or even a baking dish – or set and forget, leaving the dish to cook completely unattended in that much-loved, clever kitchen appliance, the slow cooker. The ease of switching on a slow cooker just before you leave for work in the morning is so gratifying, knowing you will come home to a beautiful meal. Slow cooking is also extremely cost effective. The ingredients that shine most after a long and low-temperature cook are usually the least expensive secondary cuts of meat that have more fat and a good marbling of connective tissue – like neck, shanks, shoulder, chuck, brisket, cheeks and ribs. A total ‘ugly duckling’ transformation happens, and the tough, underrated cut turns into an irresistibly tender piece of meat. And let’s not forget all our beloved vegetables and how budget-friendly they can be when slow cooked in a creative manner. I really wanted to provide you with lots of ways to transform humble vegetables into iconic dishes that we all love to eat but don’t necessarily know how to prepare. Explore cooking with dried legumes and pulses like chickpeas, lentils and kidney beans. Not only are they good for you, they’re economical and ideal to bulk out a dish for bigbatch cooking.
x Justine The Slow Cook by Justine Schofield, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99, Photography by Rob Palmer
