The Australian Womens Weekly Food — Issue 27 2017

143

POTATO & CHEDDAR SOUP

PREP + COOK TIME 8 HOURS 45 MINUTES

(+ COOLING) SERVES 4

1 stalk celery (150g), trimmed,

chopped coarsely

1kg potatoes, chopped coarsely

2 medium brown onions (300g),

chopped coarsely

½ small cauliflower (500g),

chopped coarsely

3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock

2 cups (500ml) water

1½ cups (180g) coarsely

grated cheddar

⅓ cup (80ml) thickened cream

¼ cup loosely packed fresh

micro herbs

1 Place celery, potato, onion,

cauliflower, garlic, stock and the

water in a 4.5−litre (18−cup) slow

cooker. Cook, covered, on Low

setting, for 8 hours.

2 Add cheddar; stir until cheddar

melts. Cool soup for 10 minutes.

Using a stick blender, blend soup

until smooth. Season to taste.

3 Serve topped with cream

and micro herbs.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Accompany with herb bread.

SLOW

COOKER

SETTINGS

Generally, the longer

meat takes to cook, the

more tender it will be,

and the more intense the

flavours. So, if you have

the time, set your cooker

to a Low setting. However,

if you’re pressed for

time, setting the slow

cooker on High will

halve the cooking time.

No matter which setting

you use, the food will

reach simmering point.

Some slow cookers have

a Warm setting; this is

not used for cooking, but

rather to maintain the

temperature of the food

until you want to eat.

Over time, you’ll find

which slow−cooking

technique works

best for you.

RUSTIC ITALIAN LAMB

SHANKS WITH BARLEY

PREP + COOK TIME 8 HOURS 30 MINUTES
SERVES 4

½ cup (100g) pearl barley
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 french−trimmed lamb
shanks (800g)
1 large brown onion (200g),
sliced thinly
2 stalks celery (300g),
chopped coarsely
2 medium carrots (240g),
sliced thickly
1 large red capsicum (350g),
chopped coarsely
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 dried bay leaves
⅓ cup (95g) tomato paste
400g can diced tomatoes
3 cups (750ml) beef stock
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped
fresh flat−leaf parsley leaves
⅓ cup (25g) grated parmesan

1 Rinse barley in a sieve under
cold running water; drain well.
2 Heat half the oil in a 4.5−litre
(18−cup) slow cooker on High
setting; cook lamb, in batches,
turning, for 15 minutes, or until
well browned. Remove from cooker.
3 Add remaining oil to cooker;
cook onion, celery, carrot and
capsicum, stirring, for 3 minutes
or until vegetables soften. Add garlic,
fennel seeds, paprika and bay leaves;
cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until
fragrant. Add the tomato paste;
cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in
tomatoes, stock and barley. Return
lamb to cooker; bring to the boil.

4 Cook, covered, on Low setting,

for 8 hours. Discard bay leaves;

season to taste.

5 Serve lamb mixture topped with

parsley and parmesan.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Accompa ny with a bitter leaf salad.

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