So a little while ago my step mum asked me if I’d like her slow cooker. It was brand new in the box as she had a spare and it would apparently save me loads of time and effort cooking. “Yes please!” says I, and promptly popped it into my garage where it lived for the next six months.
Reader, I was an idiot.
The slow cooker is as essential to any kitchen as a bottle of wine and a packet of chocolate hobnobs. Basically, it allows you to prepare everything early on in the day and then not think about it until later. You do not need to ‘cook’ early on, you do not need to prepare a separate sensible meal for your fussy child who eats at Neighbours-a-clock, all you need to do is feel smug, and blimey, I’m good at that one.
This Spanish Pork Stew is something I’ve been making quite a bit recently and as even Jacob (who hates pork) will eat it I thought I would share it.
You will need:
The slow cooker in all its glory. Something that messy has to have been used a lot!
1 pack diced pork
1/2 peppers
A few potatoes
1 tin of tomatoes
1/2 cloves of garlic
A bit of paprika
Some tomato puree
A splosh of red wine
Some olives
1) Wait until your child is having a nap or occupied with CBBC, then chop the potatoes, peppers and garlic. Put in your slow cooker along with your pork, tomatoes, paprika and tomato puree
2) About lunchtime, switch slow cooker on. Feel like a smug housewife who is On Top Of Things
3) At Neighbours-o-clock serve some to your child. This is meal number one.
4) Add wine and olives. These are far too precious commodities for a child to eat and apparently not on Annabel Karmel’s superfoods list.
5) Put child to bed. Begin to consume rest of wine
6) Decide that you can’t be bothered to cook and then remember that you’ve had something cooking all day! Eat and rejoice!
Do you think I could make it with beef and in a casserole dish on the hob? I don’t eat pork and don’t have a slow cooker but it sounds delicious.
I’m not sure if the paprika would go with beef but the rest should be fine? I used to do Kleftiko a lot which takes about 3 hours and no effort at all, highly recommend that!
Sounds yummy! Might have to try it this week
love this! have a similar recipe which uses chorizo and beans as well as pork shoulder – have done it in bulk for a couple of dinner parties – scrum.
Ooh, that sounds lovely too! I’ll have to try it!
This looks awesome!
Can you post some more slow cooker recipes please? I’ve only used my slow cooker once and the meal was a bit of a nightmare, i.e. carrots that were still hard because I’d not cooked it long enough.
No problem! You need to put it on about lunch time if you want to eat at eight, I normally’blast’ it (if such a thing is possible) for the first 40 mins and then turn it down and ignore it for the rest of the day. Actually, Rachel claims she does chicken in apple juice in there so I’ll have to nick that off her too!
I am slightly worried that the reason this recipe sounds soooooo appealing is that you mention wine a lot.
I will definitely be trying this one out soon. Thanks for sharing it on the Ultimate Slow Cooker Recipe Collection at Yummy Mummy? Really?