Quick and Easy Vegan Slow Cooking (5 page)

STEAMER BASKET

Where required I use a small, metal, collapsible vegetable steamer basket insert, found in many supermarkets or department stores (and even dollar stores) at minimal cost.

Additional items are required for making some of the dishes in To Serve With: baking sheets and pans, roasting pans, and muffin or mini loaf tins, all easily found in supermarkets, department stores, and kitchenware stores.

Ingredients

In this section we’re going to look at the common and not-so-common ingredients I use in the recipes, including substitutes for hard-to-find (or disliked) items.

Produce

Unless otherwise stated all produce used is of medium size. I don’t specify that the produce should be organic and as local as possible, but as you most likely know from newspapers, magazines, and television, these have the best flavor and a low carbon footprint. Do what you can.

GARLIC

Peeling garlic is easy. If you are planning on making Poached Garlic (
page 54
) anytime soon, you’ll want to know how.

First remove the papery outer skin from the head of garlic and separate the cloves from each other and from the hard base. If you are strong enough (and have large enough hands), you can push down on the whole head and rock back and forth to both break up the head and loosen the skins.

Place the garlic clove to be peeled on a hard board. Place the flat of your chef’s knife on top of the clove, hold your knife still, and press down with the heel of your other hand. The goal is to crack the garlic just slightly, which lets its skin slip off easily. At first you may end up with squished garlic or need to press harder, but you’ll get better at judging the pressure the more you do it.

If you are peeling a lot of garlic in one go, slightly damp hands are great for peeling off the skin; otherwise, the garlic juice will make the garlic skin stick to your hands.

MINCING GARLIC

I
MINCE THE
garlic, even if it’s going straight into the slow cooker for a blended soup; it allows the flavor to be drawn out more, to mingle with the flavors from the rest of the ingredients. Here’s how to mince (unless you’re cheating and using a microplane grater or garlic press).

Peel the clove, cut off its base, and slice in half lengthwise, giving you a flat surface to place downward on the cutting board. Cut the garlic lengthwise into very thin strips (as thin as you can), then turn the slices and cut into tiny pieces. From here use your knife in a rocking motion, holding the top edge of the tip of your knife in your nondominant hand for support, and grind the garlic into a pastelike consistency, moving the handle end back and forth as you chop.

If you prefer a mellow garlic taste, try using some Poached Garlic (
page 54
) in place of some, or all, of the raw garlic called for in any recipe. Also feel free to use larger, or smaller, cloves as your tastes dictate.

ONIONS

Chopping onions is something many people complain about, but there is really no need for goggles, water, or whatever the latest no-cry fad is. This is the method I was taught in basic chef’s training and the one I have used ever since. I rarely cry and then only if it is a super juicy onion.

1.
Slice the onion in half through the root base.
2.
Cut the straggly top bits off and discard or use for stock, leaving the root end intact on each piece, which is what keeps the tears at bay. Peel back the outer layers; they should come right off. Lay the peeled halves cut side down on your chopping board.
3.
Taking each onion half in turn, apply gentle pressure with your nondominant hand to the top of the onion and use a chef’s knife in your dominant hand to make a series of horizontal cuts parallel to the cutting board surface, from the stalk end toward the root. The pressure of your hand will stop the onion from moving and give more control over the knife.
4.
Holding the onion half by the root end, make a series of vertical cuts down through the onion to your cutting board with your knife pointing toward the root.
5.
Slice the onion parallel to the initial cut you made and the finely chopped onion will fall all over your cutting board.

I also use spring onions in some recipes. Although scallions (also known as green onions) aren’t exactly the same thing, use whichever you have on hand.

GINGER

Fresh ginger is used either minced (see Mincing Garlic,
page 13
) or in larger pieces that are removed at the end of cooking. I always peel ginger and crush larger pieces to release both oils and flavor, but this is up to you. However, I would definitely recommend peeling it before mincing. If you would rather not mince by hand or prefer smaller pieces of ginger, use a Microplane (or box) grater to get the ginger really fine. Ginger stores well in the fridge and can even be minced and frozen in ice cube trays for handy one-tablespoon amounts. Add to the slow cooker while still frozen.

LEMONGRASS

Lemongrass is found in many supermarkets and fruit and vegetable stores. It is a hard, wiry grass and smells faintly of lemon. When mincing, use only the very center of the stalks, the parts that are tender and soft. You need to bruise the stalks with the side of your chef’s knife (like you do when peeling garlic) to crack open the stems and to peel off the hard outside parts. Be a little aggressive; a bit of force is beneficial to tenderize the insides and to release the flavor oils. The softer inside layers are then minced and measured. If using the whole stalk, it is usually trimmed for length, crushed as described, then removed from the dish just prior to serving.

GREENS

Some recipes call for shredding greens such as kale, chard, or cabbage, or herbs such as basil.

To shred greens, remove the hard stem from the center of each leaf, then pile the leaves on top of one another. Roll into a cylinder, then using a sharp chef’s knife make thin cuts off the end of the roll so the greens are left in long thin strands.

For cabbage, cut in half through the stalk. Cut around the hard stalk in the center with a paring knife, lift it out, and discard. Place the half cabbage cut side down on the chopping board, press it flat, and use the chef’s knife to cut thin strands.

For basil and other small-leaf items, there’s no need to remove the center stem. Place the leaves on top of one another, roll, and cut as you would kale.

Fresh spinach may be substituted for frozen where noted. For a 14-ounce box of frozen spinach, use 4 cups of fresh spinach, packed and roughly chopped.

Arugula (also known as rocket) is slightly sharp and bitter, and if not to your taste may be replaced with spinach for a milder result.

LEEKS

Leeks love dirt. They hide it among their leaves (mainly the outer ones) and stubbornly hold onto it when you try to wash it off. The best way I’ve found to clean leeks is Jamie Oliver’s: Cut the very dark green leaves from the leek. The lighter green parts are perfectly fine and will become tender when cooked. Leave the base or root end intact. Slice the leek in half lengthwise. Holding each half in turn, with the base (white) end uppermost, rinse under cold running water. Separate all the layers and force the water to run down through them toward the green end. Because most of the dirt accumulates toward the green end of the leek, the water washes toward that end and takes the dirt straight out without depositing it on other parts of the leek. Leaving the base end on to hold everything together, slice the leeks into half or quarter moons.

ROOT VEGETABLES AND WINTER SQUASH

Root vegetables such as potatoes, beets, turnips, parsnips, and rutabaga take a very long time to cook in the slow cooker, so they must be cut into small pieces for best results. Because they are rarely perfectly round, they may not be easy to cut, but try this method: Once peeled, cut a side off the vegetable to form a flat surface, then place flat side down on the chopping board to hold the rest of the vegetable stable while cutting. To peel or not to peel is up to you if not specified (though do ensure they are thoroughly washed if you don’t peel them).

Winter squashes, such as butternut, are peeled. The easiest way to peel a hard-skinned squash is to halve it lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut it into manageable chunks and cut a flat surface on each chunk. Use a chef’s knife to run down the length of each chunk to remove the skin. Where I have used canned pumpkin, you can make a puree of the flesh of roasted or steamed pumpkin, if desired. If buying canned pumpkin,
ensure the label does not say “pie filling” and that the only ingredient is pumpkin.

If you buy beets with the greens attached and intend to use them, for best results remove the greens, wrap in damp kitchen towels, and store in the crisper of your fridge. If you store the beets and greens attached, the beets will remove all the moisture from the greens and they won’t be as nice when cooked.

If your parsnips are older and larger, the centers may be hard and woody. If so, cut out the center sections and discard, using only the outer sections of the root.

EGGPLANT AND SUMMER SQUASH

To salt or not to salt? I don’t, although if the eggplant or zucchini is large and old with tough-looking flesh and skin, I might consider it. If you feel salting decreases bitterness, you may do so this way: First cut as required by the recipe. Sprinkle the pieces generously with salt, toss to distribute evenly, and let them sit in a colander for an hour or so. Rinse the eggplant in plenty of water to remove the salt; pat dry with paper towels.

I apply the same rule to deciding whether or not to peel and remove the seeds. If it is large and looks older with a thick skin, I peel and remove any large seeds. If tender and young, I use it without peeling and seeding.

MUSHROOMS

I use a range of mushrooms, from white button, cremini, and portobello (all actually the same mushroom at different ages!) to shiitake, oyster, and even dried. In many recipes I use a combination, and you can adjust the mushrooms to taste. To a certain extent they are interchangeable—use what you have, even if it’s all white button. In some recipes I do note that substitution is not recommended, usually because I want a specific texture. However, you can always interchange different varieties of dried mushrooms. When preparing mushrooms use the caps and stems if you wish, except for shiitakes—the stems are far too tough and stringy to ever become tender. Then again, they are great for making Mushroom Stock (
page 44
).

I wipe the mushroom caps with a damp cloth to remove any dirt and proceed from there. You may briefly soak and dry mushrooms
if you like. I do not remove the gills from portobello mushrooms because I like the deeper earthy flavor and color they bring. If you prefer to remove them, scoop them out with a small spoon.

TOMATOES

When I use fresh tomatoes, I use mainly Roma (also known as plum or Italian), which are less juicy and less acidic than mainstream tomatoes. The slow cooker does tend to bring out the acidity in the tomato, which is why some recipes using fresh tomatoes have a little sweetener added for balance.

I frequently use canned diced, stewed, or crushed tomatoes; tomato sauce; and tomato paste. If you have access to reasonably priced organic canned tomatoes, use them, and try fire-roasted varieties for a nice flavor variation.

When I use sun-dried tomatoes they are not oil packed; if this is the only type you can get, remove them from the oil and use as directed. You will not need to soak to reconstitute.

The easiest and most efficient way to cut sun-dried tomatoes is to use kitchen shears and snip them into little pieces. If you’d rather use a knife, use a serrated one for easiest cutting.

If you have a garden with lots of tomatoes, you can dry your own in a dehydrator or the oven. If using a dehydrator, follow the directions that come with your model, but for oven drying here is a quick how-to: