Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker - Lynn Alley [2]
Other dishes call for a moderate period of cooking, anywhere from 4 to 6 hours. These are dishes that are either based on legumes, like lentils, that do not require extensive cooking, or sturdier vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes, and winter squashes) that can actually stand up to and be improved by moderate cooking times.
And lastly, there are recipes, generally based on grains or beans, that are at their best when subjected to a nice, long, juicy slow cook.
Unless otherwise stated, all the recipes in this book were tested in a 5-quart slow cooker. (I keep a 3-quart slow cooker for making risotto, polenta, and small amounts of anything, and for melting chocolate, but I do nearly everything else in a 5-quart slow cooker. I also keep two 7-quart slow cookers for entertaining, and a couple of very small ones for when I want to cook for just myself.)
This means that the recipes in the book are calculated to “work” at the specified times in a 5-or 6-quart slow cooker. So the first time you try a recipe from this book, you may want to watch it carefully and adjust your cooking times accordingly, especially if you are using a slow cooker of some other size. The cooking time for a 7-quart slow cooker, for instance, may be significantly shorter than for a 5-quart cooker.
Cooking times may also vary according to manufacturer and price. I am a firm believer in using the relatively cheap slow cookers that I buy at Walmart or Home Depot. They are generally very effective. The only real drawback I have found is that often the heating coils in a cheaper slow cooker may heat less evenly than those in the more expensive models.
This uneven heat source may mean that one side will brown more rapidly than the other. And the only time this makes a real difference is if you are baking a cake, which few people except me do in a slow cooker, or making a custard or bread pudding. (My makeshift solution to the problem has been to use very thick oven mitts to lift and turn the slow cooker insert halfway through the cooking period for a more even cooking. This must be done very carefully, if at all, because the insert is likely to be quite hot.)
The more expensive models also often have digital control panels rather than manual. To me, this means one more thing that could go wrong if the digital panel goes on the fritz. I prefer the manual controls found on most of the cheaper models.
The more expensive models may have more bells and whistles, such as a classy-looking gourmet “finish,” or the ability to program the cooker to turn off after a certain number of hours. If this kind of stuff is important to you, then by all means, invest in the bells and whistles.
All-Clad has a lovely, relatively expensive cooker that offers a cast-aluminum insert, rather than the conventional porcelain, that can go straight from the stove top into the slow cooker. This innovation saves on cleanup when you are browning ingredients before slow-cooking them.
And lastly, cooking times may vary in accordance with different types of ingredients. Not all potatoes, for instance, cook at the same rate. New potatoes tend to be waxy and have a firm texture that holds up under longer cooking periods, while tiny white rose potatoes or russets cut into cubes can be cooked in a matter of a couple of hours. “Old” beans take longer to cook than relatively recently harvested beans.
Ingredients and Resources
BEANS
Each type of bean has a unique texture and flavor, many of which I discovered during my first forays with a slow cooker years ago. It’s no wonder that some form of bean dish is found in nearly every