By Adam Liaw
There was a period, about seven or eight years ago, when sous vide cooking threatened to take over the food world. If you're not sure what that is, it's where food is sealed under pressure in a vacuum bag and cooked at a low temperature for hours on end. People went crazy for it. Companies were talking about benchtop immersion circulators in every home and cook-in-a-bag meat filling the supermarkets.
While all the young chefs were fawning over the promise of sous vide, if you're over 35 like I am, the whole situation sounded an awful lot like the old crock pot everyone had at home through the 1970s and '80s.
Slow-cooker pumpkin pie cheesecake.Credit: William Meppem
Thankfully, sous vide hysteria died down and it's now viewed as a valuable tool in the restaurant kitchen rather than the answer to everyone's Sunday dinner. But even better than that, the good old slow-cooker surged back into fashion. It's magnificent for hearty dishes and probably the best return-for-effort appliance in the kitchen. Here are a couple of slow-cooker recipes to enjoy before we say goodbye to the colder weather for another year.
Slow-cooker pumpkin pie cheesecake
Serves 6-8
Chick-chick stew.Credit: William Meppem
There's more to slow-cookers than just heavy stews. This cheesecake is a perfect example of just how much you can do.
• 300g peeled kent pumpkin, cut into 4cm cubes
• 150g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 100g unsalted butter, melted
• 4 eggs, 1 lightly beaten
• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 2 tbsp pepitas
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• dollop of cream, to serve
Cook the pumpkin in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander and leave to air-dry.
Grease and line the slow-cooker with baking paper. Wrap the lid with a clean tea towel and tighten with a rubber band or piece of string. This prevents any condensation from dripping into the cake.
Meanwhile, sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the brown sugar, half of the melted butter and the beaten egg and mix until a dough forms. Evenly press the dough into the base of the slow-cooker and up the sides to a height of 2cm.
Purée the pumpkin in a food processor. Add the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon and process until smooth. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, pulsing until combined. Add the remaining butter and pulse to combine.
Pour the mixture into the slow-cooker and cook on a low heat for about 4 hours, until the outside is set but the centre is still slightly wobbly (the time will vary slightly from one slow-cooker to the next). Turn off the slow-cooker and leave to rest for 30 minutes before removing, then set aside to cool completely.
Heat your oven to 180°C. On a tray, roast the pecans for 3 minutes, then add the pepitas and roast for a further 5 minutes, until golden.
Heat the maple syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the roasted pecans and pepitas to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, until sticky and coated. Serve the cheesecake with a generous dollop of cream and the maple pecans and pepitas scattered on top.
Chick-chick stew
Serves 4
This Middle Eastern-style casserole of chicken and chickpeas is tied together by the fragrance of an array of earthy spices.
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 tsp each ground turmeric, ginger and cinnamon
• large pinch saffron threads
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 375ml chicken stock
• 150g dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight, rinsed and drained
• salt and pepper, to season
• 4 skinless chicken thigh cutlets, bone-in
• 1/2 cup green Sicilian olives
• 1/2 cup each coarsely chopped parsley and coriander
• extra virgin olive oil and lemon wedges, to serve
Combine the onion, celery, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, tomatoes, stock, chickpeas, salt and pepper in your slow-cooker. Add the chicken and cover with the lid. Cook on a low heat for 8 hours, then stir in the olives and herbs. Drizzle with oil and serve with lemon wedges.
Adam's tip
If you don't have a slow-cooker, these recipes can be made in a low oven. Just use a heavy casserole dish with a lid - enamelled cast iron is perfect. A good rule of thumb is that 8-hour recipes should be cooked at 120°C and overnight recipes at 100°C.