The Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook (21 page)

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Authors: Diane Phillips

BOOK: The Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook

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Uncover the slow cooker and cook an additional 45 minutes. Serve on the warm setting.

A terrific party dish, this sumptuous lasagna is filled with shellfish, a creamy sauce, and a bit of marinara to give it some gusto. It is sure to elicit swoons from your guests. The combination of seafood is up to you. Mix the shellfish as I have done here, or use a combination of halibut and shrimp or crab, or all halibut or all sea bass.

SERVES 6 TO 8

FOR THE SEAFOOD

4 tbsp/55 g unsalted butter

1 lb/455 g bay scallops, left whole, or sea scallops, quartered

½ lb/225 g medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

½ lb/225 g lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage

2 tbsp dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, or dry vermouth

FOR THE CREAM SAUCE

½ cup/115 g unsalted butter

½ cup/65 g all-purpose flour

3 cups/720 ml whole milk

¾ cup/180 ml heavy cream

Salt

4 drops Tabasco

Dash of freshly grated nutmeg

4 cups/960 ml
Basic Marinara Sauce

One 9-oz/255-g package no-cook lasagna noodles, preferably Barilla

1¼ cups/145 g freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

TO MAKE THE SEAFOOD / In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat, add the scallops, shrimp, crabmeat, and wine and cook until the shrimp have turned pink. Transfer the seafood to a colander, strain the cooking liquid, and set aside ⅔ cup/165 ml for the cream sauce. Discard the rest.

TO MAKE THE CREAM SAUCE / In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly. When bubbles form around the pan, cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, still whisking. Gradually add the milk and reserved seafood cooking liquid, whisking constantly until the sauce comes to a boil. Add the cream and simmer, stirring a few times, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt and add the Tabasco and nutmeg.

Coat the inside of a 5- to 7-qt/4.5- to 6.5-L slow-cooker insert with nonstick cooking spray, or line the insert with a slow-cooker liner. Spread half of the marinara on the bottom of the insert, and top with about a quarter of the lasagna noodles, cutting them to fit the shape of your slow cooker. Top the noodles with half of the seafood mixture, and spoon a third of the cream sauce over the seafood. Cover the seafood with a third of the remaining noodles, and spread the remaining seafood over the noodles. Top with half of the remaining cream sauce, and sprinkle with ½ cup/60 g of the Parmigiano. Cover the seafood with half of the remaining noodles, all of the remaining marinara sauce, and ¼ cup/30 g Parmigiano. Add the remaining noodles in one layer, cover with the remaining cream sauce, and sprinkle evenly with the remaining Parmigiano. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until the noodles are tender and the cheese is bubbling.

Allow the lasagna to rest for 15 minutes, uncovered, before serving.

Wild Mushroom and Truffle Lasagna

La Taverna del Lupo (“the Tavern of the Wolf”), in Gubbio, the small Umbrian hill town where my
nonna
was born, serves an incredible white lasagna. It’s filled with wafer-thin pasta, sautéed mushrooms, and prosciutto, and it’s topped with shaved black truffles and drizzled with truffle oil-heaven on a plate. Like any layered pasta dish, it takes a few steps to get it into the slow cooker, but once it’s there, you can feel free to go about your business without worrying that the lasagna will dry out, as it might in the oven. I recommend that you use a slow-cooker liner or nonstick cooking spray with any of the layered pastas. The cheese tends to stick to the insert, and the liner or spray saves you from a laborious cleanup. You can get truffle oil at D’Artagnan
Resources
.

SERVES 8

¾ cup/170 g unsalted butter

1 lb/455 g white button or cremini mushrooms (see Slow Cooker Savvy), stems removed and sliced ¼ in/6 mm thick

4 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup/60 g all-purpose flour

3 cups/720 ml chicken broth

2½ cups/600 ml whole milk

1 tsp freshly ground white pepper (black pepper is fine, too)

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

2½ cups/290 g freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

One 9-oz/255-g package no-cook lasagna noodles, preferably Barilla (see Slow Cooker Savvy)

¼ lb/115 g thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into narrow strips

1 lb/455 g fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-in/12-mm slices

¹/
₃cup/75 ml truffle oil, for serving

In a large sauté pan, melt ¼ cup/55 g of the butter over medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and sage, and sauté until the liquid begins to evaporate and the mushrooms begin to color. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, remove from the pan, and set aside to cool.

In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining ½ cup/115 g butter over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly. After white bubbles form on the surface, cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, still whisking. Gradually add the broth, whisking until blended. Add the milk, 1½ tsp salt, the white pepper, and nutmeg and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Remove the sauce from the heat and gradually add 1½ cups of the pecorino, stirring until it melts. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Coat the inside of a 5- to 7-qt/4.5- to 6.5-L slow-cooker insert with nonstick cooking spray, or line with a slow-cooker liner. Spread a layer of cheese sauce in the bottom of the insert, and top with lasagna noodles, breaking them to fit into layers. (If you have an oval slow cooker, adjust the noodles to fit your pan.) Spread some of the mushrooms and prosciutto over the noodles, and top with a bit of the sauce and some of the mozzarella. Repeat the layers a couple of times, ending with the noodles and the remaining cheese sauce. Depending on the type of slow cooker you have, you should have four layers of noodles. Sprinkle the lasagna
with the remaining pecorino and any remaining mozzarella. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until the noodles are tender and the cheese on the top has melted.

Uncover the slow cooker and allow the lasagna to rest for 15 minutes before serving. Drizzle each serving with a bit of truffle oil.

SLOW COOKER SAVVY

I've tested hundreds of Lasagna noodles, no-boil and boil, and the Barilla brand is superior. The noodles are thin and supple, and the finished dish comes out perfectly every time.

I do not recommend that you make this recipe in an inexpensive slow cooker. They tend to cook very hot and actually can burn the cheese sauce.

Using white buttons and creminis will give you a creamy colored lasagna; if you would like to use other wild mushrooms, a mix of shitakes, lobster, fresh porcini, chanterelle or other cultivated wild mushrooms will work here. Portobello mushrooms will turn the dish black unless you scrape the gills from the underside of the mushroom.

Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti

Bright green flecks of spinach blended with ricotta peek out of the tender mani- cotti, which are bathed in a Luscious creamy sauce. This is a delicious vegetarian entrée, but carnivores and vegetarians alike will be coming back for seconds! The secret to perfectly cooked pasta dishes in the slow cooker is to undercook the pasta in boiling salted water by half the recommended amount of time. That way they won't become mushy in the slow cooker.

SERVES 6

One 9-oz/255-g package manicotti noodles

FOR THE FILLING

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Two 10-oz/280-g packages baby spinach Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

⅛ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1¼ cups/325 g whole-milk ricotta

1½ cups/175 g freshly grated

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

FOR THE CREAM SAUCE

4 tbsp/55 g unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1½ cups/360 ml chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup/240 ml heavy cream

1½ cups/175 g freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

Salt (optional)

4 drops Tabasco

Bring 6 qt/5.5 L of salted water to a boil. Boil the noodles for 5 minutes (or half the time suggested on the package). Drain the noodles, and separate them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil to cool.

TO MAKE THE FILLING / In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and swirl the garlic in the pan for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the spinach, sprinkle with salt and pep- per, add the nutmeg, and cook until the spinach is wilted and there is no more liquid in the bottom of the pan. Transfer the mixture to a food processor, and add the ricotta and Parmigiano. Pulse on and off until the mixture comes together. Transfer to a bowl. (You can store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

TO MAKE THE SAUCE / In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and swirl the garlic in the pan for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the flour and when white bubbles appear, whisk for 2 to 3 minutes to cook the roux. Slowly add the broth and cream, and bring the sauce back to a boil, whisking constantly until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pecorino, whisking until the cheese is melted. Season with salt if necessary, and stir in the Tabasco. (At this point the sauce can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

Coat the inside of a 5- to 7-qt/4.5- to 6.5-L slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray, or line with a slow-cooker liner. Spread a layer of the sauce over the bottom of the slow cooker. Using a small offset spatula, push 2 tbsp of filling into each manicotti tube. Lay the tubes in the slow cooker, and cover with the remaining sauce. If your slow cooker is small or round, layer the tubes, alternating them with layers of the sauce. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours, or on low for 5 to 6 hours, until the sauce is bubbling. Remove the cover and allow the manicotti to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Veal Manicotti

Manicotti
is Italian for "little muffs." These tubes of pasta are filled with savory bits, and then covered with either a creamy béchamel or a tomato sauce. Here the manicotti are stuffed with a savory filling, and topped with a marinara cream sauce with a bit of a kick. Making dishes like this in the slow cooker helps infuse the filling and pasta with the sauce, permeating the dish.