Uncomplicated golden overnight chicken/turkey stock in your slow cooker

November 9, 2013September 9, 2022 Belinda

I want to shout this recipe out loud because it makes the world’s best stock while you’re sleeping, it’s SO effortless and with only 4 few ingredients. I can hear you say, “What about the carrots, celery, thyme….?” You really don’t need them! Try this recipe as is first, is all I am saying and you will realize it’s all you need.

In preparation for Thanksgiving or Christmas (and any other times you want the very best quality chicken or turkey stock), we woke up this morning to the beautifully pervading smell of turkey broth cooking in the slow cooker.
I’m getting ahead of the game by making the turkey stock for the gravy, and having made this recipe once, I swear there is no other stock recipe you will need.
It is so easy and with so few ingredients. Go to your local supermarket (I went to Wholefoods) and ask for 3lbs of their wings, that is all.
It’s a rich, golden, strongly flavored stock and usable in so many ways.
It would be the most divine broth just to have neat, especially if you’re under the weather and it will make the most wonderful gravy.
If you don’t have a slow cooker, go out and buy yourself one, (preferably 5 quart size or more) even if it’s just for this recipe. They are very inexpensive and well worth it.

Makes 3 quarts

4 lbs uncooked chicken or turkey wings
3 quarts water
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp salt, or more to taste

Place all the ingredients in your slow cooker.
Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours (I did mine overnight) or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
Strain out the chicken/turkey parts, onion and garlic.
I put a large colander lined with kitchen towel over a large bowl and emptied everything into that and waited for 20 minutes until every drop had been strained through the towel, then threw all solids away.
The stock is now ready for use, or you might like to refrigerate it overnight and skim off the small amount of fat the next morning, freezing it for when you roast those potatoes!
Once defatted, you can use or freeze the broth for later use.
It’s as simple as that!

Do-ahead · Meat · Whole30 compliant

Garlic studded beef pot roast

November 1, 2013September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is a recipe from Emeril Lagasse and I’ve made it multiple times. It is full of flavor, garlicky, and the meat is very, very tender with a rich sauce.

1 (3 to 3 1/2 lb) boneless beef chuck roast
10 to 12 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut in 1/2 lengthwise
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup beef stock, plus more if necessary. (I found I needed about 4 cups)
Fresh chopped thyme leaves and parsley, for garnish
Roasted vegetables, recipe below

Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, make 20 to 24 evenly spaced small slits about 1 1/2 inches deep all over the pot roast. Using your fingers, insert the garlic cloves as deep into the meat as possible. Season the roast evenly on all sides with the salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy casserole dish (Dutch oven) over high heat. Add the oil and when very hot, use the meat fork to add the roast.
Sear on all sides until VERY well browned. This is where a lot of the flavor comes from. When the roast is evenly browned on all sides, add the stock and stir to loosen the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
Cover the casserole dish with a lid, reduce the heat to low/medium-low and cook the roast until it is very tender, about 3 hours, turning two or three times during the entire cooking time.
Check occasionally to make sure that you always have 1 inch or so of liquid on the bottom of the pan (Hence the need to have 4 cups of stock available)

When the roast is very tender, transfer to a serving platter and slice or pull the meat apart into serving pieces.
Reduce the pan juices until the flavor is more intense and serve drizzled over the roast and the roasted vegetables that you serve around the roast. Garnish with the fresh thyme leaves and parsley.

Roasted vegetables

2 turnips, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
12 red pearl onions
2 beets cut into 1 inch pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 F

Place all the vegetables except the beets in a roasting pan. Place the beets in a separate roasting pan.
Drizzle all vegetables with extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Place in the oven and roast for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and caramelized.

Asian flavors · Do-ahead · Soup · Whole30 compliant

Thai Pumpkin soup

October 28, 2013September 9, 2022 Belinda

3 1/2 lb winter squash, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 lemongrass, bashed a bit
3 – 4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
14 or 15 oz can coconut milk
4 cups chicken stock
fresh lime juice and sugar for seasoning
1 red chile, sliced, to serve

Heat the oven to 400 F

Toss the winter squash in a roasting tin with half the oil and seasoning, then roast for 30 minutes until golden and tender.

Meanwhile, put the remaining oil in a pan with the onion, ginger and lemongrass.
Gently cook for 8 to 10 minutes until softened.
Stir in the curry paste for 1 minute, followed by the roasted squash, all but 3 tbsp of coconut milk and the stock.
Bring to a simmer, cook for 5 minutes, then fish out the lemongrass.
Cool for a few minutes, then whizz until smooth in the blender.
Return to the pan to heat through, seasoning with salt, pepper, lime juice and sugar, if it needs it.

Serve drizzled with the remaining coconut milk and scattered with chile, if you like

Egg based · Meat · Whole30 compliant

Braised eggs with ground lamb, tahini and sumac

October 27, 2013January 7, 2017 Belinda

A gem from Yotam Ottolenghi…

Serves 2 as a substantial meal on it’s own

3 x oven roasted tomatoes or 1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes
olive oil
1 large leek, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise
4 x cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3/4 lb ground lamb
2 tsp sumac
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp za’atar
salt and black pepper
2 x generous handfuls roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
1 tbsp harissa paste (store bought is fine)
1/2 preserved lemon, flesh discarded & skin finely diced
1 cup chicken stock
4 x extra large free range eggs

Yoghurt sauce

1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp tahini
juice of half lemon
1 tbsp water
pinch sea salt

To finish
Sumac
1 tbsp green harissa or a handful fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

If using cherry tomatoes, heat a small , cast iron grill pan over high heat until very hot. Add the tomatoes and cook over high heat for about 4 to 5 minutes until starting to blacken on the outside. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat a generous slosh of olive oil in a heavy based frying pan over medium heat.
Add the sliced leeks and garlic to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften and turn slightly golden.
Add the lamb to the pan, increase the heat slightly, and cook for a further 5 minutes or so until the lamb is browned.
Add the sumac, cumin, za’atar, pinch of flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Stir to make sure everything is well coated with all the seasonings and cook for a further minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped pistachios, harissa paste and preserved lemon.
This dish could be prepared ahead up to this point.

Return the pan to the heat, adding the tomatoes and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low, make 4 small wells in the mixture and break an egg into each well.
Cover the pan, and continue to cook over low heat until the egg whites are set but the yolk is still runny – about 5 minutes.

While the eggs are cooking, make the yoghurt sauce by mixing all the ingredients together and whisking until smooth.
The mixture should be quite thick, but thin with a little more water if it’s too thick.

Once the eggs are cooked, remove the pan from the heat, dot dollops of the yoghurt sauce over the top, sprinkle over a little sumac and finish with a drizzle of green harissa or a sprinkling of fresh cilantro sprigs

Serve immediately

Asian flavors · Gluten Free · Vegan · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related · Whole30 compliant

Roasted cauliflower with turmeric, ginger, fenugreek and mustard seeds

October 21, 2013January 6, 2017 Belinda

You can’t have too many recipes for this extremely low calorie vegetable.

Serves 4

1 large cauliflower cut into florets of about 1 1/2 inches each
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp powdered turmeric
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 jalapeno, finely sliced
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds (they look brown to me!)
1/3 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 tbsp water or stock
salt and pepper to taste
3 scallions, sliced thin on the diagonal, for decoration

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Blanch the cauliflower florets for 2 to 3 minutes and immediately remove, drain and put into a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, turmeric, mustard seeds, fenugreek, salt and pepper, grated fresh ginger, jalapeno and a dash of stock/water. Mix well.
Pour this mixture over the blanched cauliflower while still steaming and toss to coat everything.

Transfer this to a roasting pan and make sure to have all the cauliflower in a single layer and not crowded.

Cook uncovered until fork tender – about 25 minutes and starting to get golden brown and toasty.

Transfer to a platter and scatter with the scallions.

Gluten Free · Vegan · Whole30 compliant

Sweet potatoes with start anise, ginger and lime

October 19, 2013January 7, 2017 Belinda

This is from a fellow blogger and is divine with the star anise permeating the sweet potato and the lime juice and zest cutting through the sweetness of the potatoes.

Serves 2, but is easily doubled, trebled or ……

1lb sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1 star anise
1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated
1 lime, juice and grated zest
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 F

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and toss.
Arrange the potatoes and all the juices in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Roast for 10 minutes, then shake or flip the potatoes over.
Continue roasting for 10 minutes or however long it takes to become tender and slightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

There’s a nice depth of flavor that comes from roasting all of the ingredients together, but those who really love ginger and lime might enjoy this variation.
Instead of adding the ginger, lime zest and juice to the olive oil mixture, toss them with the potatoes AFTER roasting for a hotter and zestier flavor

Fish · Gluten Free · Whole30 compliant

Mediterranean fish

October 10, 2013January 6, 2017 Belinda

This recipe is one I made up when I only had a few things in the fridge. I was looking for something light but flavorful and was thrilled with the way this came out and it only took 15 minutes to cook!

Serves 2

2 x 6oz pieces of fish like sole, cod, halibut, but not too thick.
3 medium sized onions, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
2 lemons, juice and grated rind of both of them
1 lemon for squeezing the juice over the fish and grated rind when seasoning the fish
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/8 to 1/4 cup drained capers, roughly chopped
3/4 pint (punnet) of cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper
1 tbsp butter and 2 turns of the pan of olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil and /or parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 F

Season the fish fillets with salt, pepper, grated lemon rind and sprinkle with a little olive oil. Set aside.

In a shallow, heavy pan that has a lid, (I have a heavy round cast iron one) heat the butter and olive oil gently until starting to sizzle, then put in the onions and garlic, stirring to coat with the oil and butter.. Leave them on a low heat to caramelize for about 45 mins, stirring occasionally, then add the capers, olives, cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper and lemon rind. Stir and saute for another 5 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, parsley/basil and mix well. Lay the seasoned fish fillets on the mixture in the pan and spoon the sauce over to 3/4 cover the fish so it picks up the flavors of the mixture. Sprinkle with the extra lemon juice and put the lid on.

Bake at 400 F for about 15 mins, checking to see if the fish is cooked. Don’t over cook! There should be a good amount of juice in the dish.

This is lovely served with my leek and dill pilaf recipe.