The Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook (8 page)

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Authors: Diane Phillips

BOOK: The Mediterranean Slow Cooker Cookbook

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Sprinkle the pork evenly with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil over high heat and brown the pork on all sides, turning frequently. Transfer the pork to the slow cooker, lower the heat under the skillet to medium-high, and add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 3 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Pour in the wine and allow it to boil for 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the insert, stirring to blend with the other ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the pork is tender.

While the pork is cooking, heat the remaining ¼ cup/60 ml oil in a small skillet, and fry the remaining sage leaves until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside. When the pork is done, transfer to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil. Strain the sauce into a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Boil the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavors. Remove the butcher’s twine from the roast and slice. Serve the roast on a platter, napped with some of the sauce and topped with the fried sage leaves. Serve the warmed sauce along-side the roast.

Portuguese White Wine-Braised Pork Loin with Roasted Red Peppers

Colorful roasted red peppers and a white wine and garlic-scented broth flavor this tender pork dish. At the end of the cooking time the broth and peppers are puréed, resulting in a sauce similar to a romesco. It’s terrific when served over pasta, rice, or potatoes. And the leftover pork makes delicious panini.

SERVES 8

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp sweet paprika

6 roasted red bell peppers, either home-made (see Slow Cooker Savvy) or jarred, cut into thin strips

2 cups/240 g cherry tomatoes, halved

One 3½- to 4-lb/1.6- to 1.8-kg pork loin, tied at 1-in/2.5-mm intervals with butcher’s twine or silicone loops

1 tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1½ cups/360 ml dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, or dry vermouth

2 tbsp beef soup base or demi-glace

½ cup/55 g chopped toasted hazelnuts

½ cup/55 g toasted bread crumbs
Slow Cooker Savvy

½ cup/30 g packed fresh flat-leaf parsley

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion, garlic, and paprika for 3 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Transfer the mixture to the insert of a 5- to 7-qt/4.5- to 6.5-L slow cooker, and stir in the roasted peppers and cherry tomatoes.

Sprinkle the pork evenly with the salt and pepper, and in the same skillet, brown the pork on all sides. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the wine and soup base to the skillet, scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and pour over the pork. Cover and cook on low heat for 7 to 8 hours, until the pork is tender.

Using tongs, remove the pork from the cooker. Skim off the excess fat, and stir in the hazelnuts, bread crumbs, and parsley. Using an immersion blender, purée the sauce. After the pork has rested for 10 minutes, remove the butcher’s twine, and slice the pork ½ in/12 mm thick. Serve the pork napped with the sauce, and pass the remaining sauce on the side. The pork and sauce are delicious hot, warm, or at room temperature.

SLOW COOKER SAVVY

To roast bell peppers, preheat the broiler for 10 minutes. Arrange the peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Broil on all sides until the skin is charred. Turn off the broiler, close the oven door, and allow the peppers to cool in the oven. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, slip off the skins, remove the core, and cut the peppers into strips. The cooled, skinned peppers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Stuffed Pork Loin with Prunes and Port Wine

This elegant dish comes from the Dordogne region, in southwestern France. The prunes there are as big as your fist, juicy and sweet. They give this dish a sweet flavor, which counterbalances the strong notes of the port wine sauce. In the Dordogne, this dish is usually served with potatoes sautéed in duck fat, but oven-roasted potatoes with a bit of garlic and rosemary are a fine alternative.

SERVES 8

1 cup/240 ml ruby port

24 dried plums (Slow Cooker Savvy)

One 4-lb/1.8-kg pork loin roast

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup/160 g finely chopped shallots

2 tsp dried thyme

½ cup/120 ml Dijon mustard

½ cup/100 g firmly packed light brown sugar

2 cups/480 ml beef broth

2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup/60 ml water

½ cup/30 g finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

In a mixing bowl, pour the port over the dried plums and set aside to soak while preparing the pork. On a cutting board, butterfly the pork: Lay the pork loin down with an end close to you. Using a boning knife or other thin, flexible knife, cut lengthwise through the center of the roast from one end to the other, leaving a ¾-in/2-cm hinge of uncut meat. Spread out the meat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drain the plums, saving the port. Arrange 8 to 10 plums over half of the roast, and fold the meat over the plums. Tie with butcher’s twine or silicone bands at 1-in/2.5-cm intervals.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and brown the pork on all sides. Transfer the meat to the insert of a 5- to 7-qt/4.5- to 6.5-L slow cooker. Add the shallots and thyme to the skillet, and cook for 3 minutes, until the shallots begin to soften. Transfer to the insert, and stir in the mustard, sugar, reserved port, remaining plums, and broth. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours, or on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the meat is tender. It will literally fall apart.

Transfer the meat and plums to a cutting board, and cover with aluminum foil. Strain the contents of the slow cooker into a small saucepan and skim off any excess fat. Bring the sauce to a boil. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture, and continue whisking until the sauce returns to a boil and is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat.

Stir in the parsley, and keep the sauce warm while you slice the meat. Cut off the butcher’s twine, and slice the meat ½ to ¾ in/12 mm to 2 cm thick. Serve the meat napped with some of the sauce and surrounded by the loose plums.

SLOW COOKER SAVVY

The word
prune
has gotten a bad rap. Prune growers in the United States are now labeling their fruits as “dried plums” to help counteract all the bad press. If your family won’t eat them, regardless of what they’re called, figs will work well in this recipe, and so will dried apricots.

Pork Shoulder Stuffed with Fennel, Garlic, and Rosemary

I could write love sonnets to this dish, otherwise known as
porchetta
- a stuffed and rolled pork shoulder sold all over the countryside in Umbria and Tuscany. This is peasant food, real food without pretense.
Porchetta
is usually served in a sandwich from a food truck, where mama has been roasting the pork for hours. The sandwich drips with roasted pork juices, smells of garlic and
rosmarino,
and crunches with crackling skin. It’s heavenly eaten by the roadside with an Italian beer.
Porchetta
is a great choice for serving to a large crowd along with grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, and salad. The slow cooker is the perfect place to cook a
porchetta
; it emerges falling-apart tender, and perfumes the house with fennel, rosemary, and garlic.

SERVES 8

One 5- to 6-lb/2.3- to 2.7-kg boneless pork shoulder

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ cup/120 ml extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 tsp fennel seeds

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 fennel bulb, wispy fronds removed, finely chopped

2 cups/480 ml dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, or dry vermouth

Lay the pork on a cutting board, fat-side down, and sprinkle with some of the salt and pepper. In a mixing bowl, stir together the remaining salt and pepper, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and fennel seeds. Rub this mixture all over the pork. Roll up the pork from a short side, and tie it at 1-in/2.5-cm intervals with butcher’s twine or silicone loops.

Spread out the onions and chopped fennel on the bottom of the insert for a 5- to 7-qt/4.5- to 6.5-L slow cooker, and pour in the wine. Lay the pork on top of the vegetables. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours, or on low for 10 to 12 hours. The pork will be very tender. Remove the meat from the slow cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Strain the contents of the slow cooker into a saucepan and skim off any excess fat. Bring the sauce to a boil and continue boiling until reduced by half. Cut off the butcher’s twine, and remove any excess fat. Slice the meat ½ in/12 mm thick, or pull apart with two forks. Serve piled on a platter with the sauce on the side.

Lamb-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

There are many versions of stuffed cabbage rolls throughout the Mediterranean region. Dried fruits and couscous are tucked inside cabbage rolls in North Africa; while in France, myriad forcemeats, like pâté, are wrapped inside the leaves and steamed in broth. But these lamb-stuffed cabbage rolls from Greece really tickled my taste buds, and I think you will love serving them to your family. They are made with savoy cabbage, which is milder than green cabbage. Stuffed with a spicy lamb mixture, the cabbage rolls simmer in wine and broth. They’re terrific served over orzo pasta.

SERVES 6

1 head savoy cabbage, cored

1½ lb/680 g ground lamb

½ cup/80 g finely chopped red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried marjoram

1½ tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 cups/480 ml chicken broth

1½ cups/360 ml full-bodied red wine such as Merlot, Burgundy, or Chianti

½ cup/30 g finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Bring 4 qt/3.5 L of water to a boil in a large stockpot over high heat. Remove 8 leaves of cabbage from the head, keeping them intact. Blanch the cabbage, 2 leaves at a time, in the boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds, or until the cabbage is soft. Remove from the water, drain, and cool. Coarsely chop the remaining cabbage, and transfer it to the insert of a 5- to 7-qt/4.5- to 6.5-L slow cooker.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the lamb, red onion, garlic, oregano, marjoram, salt, pepper, and egg with your hands or a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together. Form the meat into eight ovals, and lay each in the middle of a blanched cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides over the meat, then roll the stem end over the meat and continue rolling tightly to the end.

Transfer the rolls to the insert of the slow cooker, arranging them on the chopped cabbage. Sprinkle the onion over the cabbage rolls, and pour in the broth and wine. Cover and cook for 3 hours on high, or 5 to 6 hours on low. The meat should register 170°F/77°C on an instant-read meat thermometer.

Gently lift the rolls from the slow cooker using tongs, transfer to a serving platter, and cover with aluminum foil. Strain the liquid into a saucepan, bring to a boil, and continue boiling for 5 minutes, until reduced by a quarter. Stir in the parsley. In a small bowl, knead together the butter and the flour. Whisk in the butter mixture, 1 tsp at a time, and continue whisking until the sauce returns to a boil and is smooth and thickened to your liking. Serve the cabbage rolls in a pool of the warm sauce, with additional sauce on the side.

Green Bean and Lamb Stew Provençal

Beautifully colored, fragrant with herbes de Provence, and filled with potatoes, green beans, and tender wine-soaked chunks of lamb, this one-pot meal is sure to please everyone in your family.