Fancy coming home to the smell of supper cooking? Join the slow-cooker revolution with our family recipes
Slow cooking: the basics
Different designs and technologies mean that slow cookers can vary in price. You can pick one up for as little as £10, which is perfect for everyday cooking, or as much as £300 if you want a high-tech model with sous-vide settings and specific ingredient presets.
■ The smallest sizes are suitable for one or two people.
■ 3-litre and 4.5-litre models (the most popular sizes on the market) serve four.
■ 6-6.5-litre models are ideal for families and batch cooking.
When buying a slow cooker, take into consideration how much space it takes up if you want to leave it out on your work surface.
Slow-cooker chicken soup
■ Serves 6-8
■ Prep 15 mins
■ Cook 6-8 hrs
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 carrots, cut into 1.5cm pieces
2 leeks, halved and sliced
1 bay leaf and 3 thyme sprigs, tied together
1.4kg whole medium chicken
2 litres chicken stock
1 lemon, juiced
½ small bunch of dill or parsley, finely chopped crusty bread, to serve (optional)
1 Set your slow cooker to low. Tip in the onion, celery, carrots and leeks, and nestle in the bunch of herbs. Sit the chicken on top of the veg and pour over the stock. Cook for 6-8 hrs.
2 Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and transfer to a board. Shred the meat from the bones using two forks, then return the meat to the slow cooker, discarding the bones. Season to taste and stir through the lemon juice.
3 Remove and discard the bunch of herbs. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the dill or parsley. Serve with some crusty bread, if you like.
PER SERVING (8) 352 kcals, fat 21g, saturates 6g, carbs 4g, sugars 3g, fibre 3g, protein 35g, salt 1.6g
Slow-cooker lasagne
■ Serves 4
■ Prep 20 mins plus standing
■ Cook 3 hrs 15 mins
2 tsp rapeseed oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 celery sticks, finely chopped
4 carrots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
400g lean (5% fat) beef mince
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp vegetable bouillon
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp thyme leaves
6 wholemeal lasagne sheets (105g) salad, to serve (optional)
FOR THE SAUCE
400ml whole milk
50g wholemeal flour
1 bay leaf generous grating of nutmeg
15g finely grated parmesan
1 Heat the slow cooker if necessa
