Long, slow roasting and baking are fantastic ways to cook. Meats become tender, vegetables and fruits become jammy, and flavours combine, adapt and mellow to produce complex combinations.
That's not to mention the fact that it's incredibly easy, too. Just throw everything together and let your pot or oven do the work.
All you need to do is flip a tong or whirl a spoon every now and then to make sure everything's in order. If there's one thing that slow cooking misses, it's freshness and tartness.
You can add it at the end – for instance, putting gremolata on osso bucco, or a punch of fresh herbs on top of a stew – but there's nothing like a quick pickle to wake the palate. Pickling doesn't need to take weeks and months. In fact, some of the tastiest and most refreshing pickles can be made in just minutes. Give them a whirl to take your favourite slow-cooked dishes to the next level.
SLOW-COOKED LAMB WITH GARLIC YOGHURT AND WHOLEMEAL MILKBREAD
Serves 4-6
This lamb cooks low and slow for hours, and is perfect for tearing to shreds and wrapping up.
• 2 large brown onions, cut into rings
• 1 lemon, cut into rings
• 1 lamb shoulder (about 2kg)
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ cups mixed cherry tomatoes, halved, to serve
• ¼ cup finely shredded flat-leaf parsley, to serve
Garlic yoghurt
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• rind of ½ lemon
• 1½ cups Greek yoghurt
Wholemeal milkbreads
• 100g unsalted butter
• 1½ cups full cream milk
• 4 cups wholemeal plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp salt
Heat your oven to 220°C. Place the sliced onion and lemon in the base of a heavy, lidded casserole dish. Rub the lamb shoulder with the garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper, honey and olive oil, and place into the pot. Pour 1 cup of water around the base of the lamb and bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 120°C and bake for a further 7 hours, until the lamb is falling apart.
Remove the lamb from the casserole and shred the meat, adding enough of the pan juices to keep it very moist. For the garlic yoghurt, combine the garlic and salt and grind to a smooth paste using a mortar and pestle. Add the lemon rind and yoghurt and stir thoroughly to combine. For the wholemeal milkbreads, gently heat the butter and milk in a large saucepan until the butter has just melted. Add the flour and salt and stir until a dough comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth, adding extra flour as necessary so that the dough is not sticky. Wrap in cling film and rest for at least 20 minutes, then divide into 12 equal portions. Roll the milkbreads out into circles about 2mm thick. Heat 2 frying pans over medium heat and fry the milkbreads for about a minute on each side until the breads puff and start to brown. Keep the finished milkbreads stacked and wrapped in a tea towel so they don't harden.
Serve the shredded lamb with the warm milkbreads, allowing each person to make their wrap to their own tastes using the garlic yoghurt, cherry tomatoes and parsley.
CRÊPES WITH CITRUS SUGAR AND SOUR CREAM
Serves 6
Sometimes simple sweets really are the best. A floppy crêpe, a smattering of sugar, a squeeze of citrus and an indulgence of cream are all you need.
• 650g flour
• 1 litre milk
• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup icing sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 120g butter, melted
• 1 cup sour cream, to serve
• lemon and lime wedges, to serve
Citrus sugar
• finely grated rind of 1 lemon
• finely grated rind of 1 lime
• finely grated rind of 1 orange
• ¾ cup white sugar
For the citrus sugar, combine the rinds and sugar in a food processor or mortar and pestle and grind until the sugar is coarse and colourful. To make the crêpe batter, place the flour, milk, eggs, icing sugar and salt in a blender and mix until smooth. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes in the blender jug, then add half the melted butter and briefly pulse to combine.
Heat a perfectly flat 24cm frying pan or crêpe pan and brush with a little of the remaining melted butter.
Tilt the pan and pour in about ¼ cup of the batter, quickly swirling to completely coat the pan in a thin layer. Cook for about 2 minutes until lightly browned, then flip and cook for about 20 seconds, until set. Put on a plate to cool. Repeat for the remaining batter. Generously brush crêpes with more of the remaining melted butter and scatter with citrus sugar. Fold into quarters or roll into cigars, sprinkle a little extra citrus sugar on top, and serve with sour cream and lemon and lime wedges.
For the citrus sugar, combine the rinds and sugar in a food processor or mortar and pestle and grind until the sugar is coarse and colourful. To make the crêpe batter, place the flour, milk, eggs, icing sugar and salt in a blender and mix until smooth. Rest in the fridge for 30 minutes in the blender jug, then add half the melted butter and briefly pulse to combine. Heat a perfectly flat 24cm frying pan or crêpe pan and brush with a little of the remaining melted butter.
Tilt the pan and pour in about ¼ cup of the batter, quickly swirling to completely coat the pan in a thin layer. Cook for about 2 minutes until lightly browned, then flip and cook for about 20 seconds, until set. Put on a plate to cool. Repeat for the remaining batter. Generously brush crêpes with more of the remaining melted butter and scatter with citrus sugar. Fold into quarters or roll into cigars, sprinkle a little extra citrus sugar on top, and serve with sour cream and lemon and lime wedges.