The Everything Kosher Slow Cooker Cookbook (4 page)
Read The Everything Kosher Slow Cooker Cookbook Online
Authors: Dena G. Price
In high altitude areas, liquids boil at lower temperatures than at sea level. As a result, cooking times and settings will have to be adjusted. Check for doneness after the maximum suggested cooking times, and cook for a longer time at possibly a higher setting than the recipe suggests.
Slow Cooker Safety
If the power goes out while you are not at home and you are unsure how long the cooker was off, throw away the food, even if it looks done. If you are at home during the power failure, finish cooking the ingredients immediately by some other means, such as a gas oven or cooktop or outside on the barbecue grill. But if the food was completely cooked before the power went out, the cooked food should remain safe for up to two hours in the cooker with the power off.
Never preheat an empty slow cooker or let it run on empty because extreme temperature changes may crack your crock. For the same reason, never pour cold food into a hot crock, and never refrigerate or immerse a hot crock in cold water.
Like all electrical appliances, care should be taken while using a slow cooker. The cord is short to prevent possible entanglements with another object; avoid using an extension cord.
Make sure the slow cooker fits comfortably on your countertop. Since the sides of a slow cooker can get very hot, allow at least six inches of clearance on all sides. Keep it from the edge of the counter, away from klutzy adults, small children, and large pets. Because heat rises, do not use the unit underneath a cabinet, or inside a cabinet.
Discard the cooker if the cord is cut or frayed. Unless you are an electrician, do not attempt to replace the cord yourself. To be safe, leave the unit unplugged when not in use.
Unless there is a warm setting on your slow cooker, remove and serve the food immediately when done. After dinner, pack and refrigerate leftovers as soon as possible to prevent the growth of bacteria.
To help prevent baked-on food, lightly spray the bottom and sides of the slow cooker with vegetable oil or, more conveniently, with cooking spray.
Inspect the crock before each use, and discard if any cracks appear. Besides the danger of bacteria entering and flourishing in cracks, there is the danger of the crock shattering when heated.
Caring for Your Slow Cooker
Even with the use of cooking sprays, some foods just want to permanently bond to the crock. Avoid abrasive cleaners and steel wool pads. After the crock cools, place in the sink and fill with hot, soapy water. Let it soak for a half hour or so, then gently scrub with a sponge or plastic scrubbie. Rinse with hot water, then invert over a dish drainer and let dry.
Some crocks have dark interiors, which do a great job hiding stains. If you have stains on a lighter-color crock, soak in hot water with a cup of vinegar added, then rinse with hot water as above.
The exterior of the slow cooker, unless the directions for that model say otherwise, should never be immersed in water. Only surface clean it.
And the most important tip? Always read and follow the directions!
The Kosher Pantry
Since 1923, when the Orthodox Union created its famous OU logo to designate Heinz vegetarian beans as kosher and pareve, thousands of food items today are available certified as kosher. It is almost a certainty that every kitchen in America contains at least one food with a hechsher.
The following is a list of products often found in a kosher pantry. Many people unfamiliar with kosher products will be surprised to learn that most of the items on this list will be quite familiar, since formerly “exotic” food items have gone mainstream and are easily available at the local supermarket. Many of the staples listed are for today’s kosher cook, who makes traditional comfort foods and incorporates international cuisines into everyday meals.
- Kasha
- Vegetarian bouillon
- Matzoh and matzoh meal
- Tapioca and cornstarch
- Dates
- Prunes (also known as dried plums), apricots and other dried fruit
- Pita bread
- Bagels
- Bread (usually pareve to avoid accidentally using a dairy with meat)
- Pearl barley
- Dried or canned beans
- Dried spices and herbs
- Pasta sauce (usually pareve to avoid unintentionally mixing a dairy with meat)
- Pasta and noodles in various widths and shapes
- Soba noodles
- Soy sauce
- Chili paste
- Olive oil
- Vegetable oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- White and/or cider vinegar
- Pareve “bacon bits”
- Cooking spray (usually pareve to avoid accidentally mixing milk with meat)
- Soy, coconut, almond, and rice milk—used as milk substitutes. Although dairy-free, some of these “milks” are produced on equipment that also processes dairy products. Look for a pareve hechsher to avoid combining milk and meat products.
- Couscous (both regular and Israeli style)
- Rice (such as long grain, basmati, and Arborio)
- Quinoa
- Farro—an ancient grain that lately has had a resurgence in popularity
- Olives—black, green, or both, depending on personal preference
- Kosher and table salt
- Canned tomatoes
- Kosher gelatin—vegetarian or fish-based. Some interpretations of kashrut allow any type of gelatin.
- Wine—although grapes are inherently kosher, winemaking must be supervised by religious Jews and produced according to kashrut in order to be kosher. Reform and most conservative interpretations allow any wine.
- Tofu—a pressed curd made from soy beans
- Meat analogs such as Morningstar Farms or textured vegetable protein (TVP) take the place of nonkosher varieties.
- Parsley—this book uses the flat Italian variety because it is much more flavorful than the curly variety.
- Hard cheeses—the production of ordinary hard cheese uses rennet, another animal-based product. Look for a kosher brand labeled with a hechsher, where a vegetable-based rennet is used. Conservative and reform interpretations allow any American-made cheese.
- Margarine—some margarines contain dairy products. The margarine in a kosher kitchen will always be pareve to prevent the possibility of accidentally mixing a dairy margarine with meat. Recipes in this book use stick margarine.
- Kosher meats, poultry, and fish
Converting Recipes for the Slow Cooker
To avoid reinventing the wheel, first do a little investigating to see if a recipe similar to yours has already been adapted for the slow cooker. This cookbook is a great place to start.
If the original recipe calls for large pieces of meat, cut those pieces into individual serving sizes, or 1-inch cubes or strips. Large chunks of vegetables should be chopped or diced into similar-sized pieces as well.
Less liquid is lost to evaporation in a slow cooker, so start out with a little more than half of the liquid called for in the original recipe. For example, if a soup recipe calls for eight cups of water (or water to cover), start out with five cups. It’s easier to add liquid afterward if the food seems too dry than to add too much liquid at the beginning and siphon out the excess later.
Similarly, because moisture and steam help in the cooking process, add a little liquid, such as water, broth, or juice (depending on the food) if none is listed in your recipe.
If too much liquid remains at the end of cooking time anyway, you have many options to fix it (besides just ignoring it). You can ladle the excess liquid out of the crock, or thicken the sauce by stirring in some cornstarch mixed with a little cold water. A third way to correct too much liquid is to grab the immersion blender and purée some or all of the ingredients. The purée will mix with and thicken the sauce. And, depending on the recipe, some cooks stir in up to an entire can of condensed soup, or (in the case of dairy food) some powdered milk.
Fresh herbs and spices lose their flavor with long cooking. Hold off adding fresh herbs and spices until at least thirty minutes before the end of cooking time. Conversely, the flavors of dried herbs and spices may become more pronounced or harsh from long cooking. Use about half of the dried herbs originally called for at the beginning of the cooking time; later on, taste and add more if necessary.
Milk and cheese tend to break down and separate. Substitute cream or evaporated milk, both of which can handle long cooking times. Wait to add cheese until about thirty to sixty minutes before the end of cooking time; or, add it at the start, then cook on the high setting.
If the recipe you want to convert calls for stirring or basting the food, don’t! Heat and moisture escape every time the lid is lifted; the cooking time can increase as much as thirty minutes with each peek. Besides, any evaporation will rise, condense on the lid, then drip back down on the food, essentially basting itself. Remember, the point of a slow cooker is that it can (and should!) be left alone.
Converting Cooking Times
To convert cooking times, the rule of thumb is for every thirty minutes of conventional cooking time, cook for four to six hours on low or two to four hours on high in the slow cooker. If the slow cooker is half to three-quarters full, assume it will be the longer cooking time. If the slow cooker is less than half full, be sure to check for doneness even before these time suggestions. It’s difficult, but not impossible, to overcook food.
Browning
For recipes that might look bland and unappetizing without a brown crust, transfer the cooked food to a casserole dish and pop under the broiler for a minute or two for a quick browning. Another way is to first sear the meat in a skillet, then finish cooking in the slow cooker.
A way to camouflage the lack of a golden brown top is the use of garnishes. Depending on the recipe, parsley, green onions, shredded cheese, sliced fruit, or toasted nuts, coconut, or bread crumbs can hide plain-looking tops.
Rice
When converting a rice casserole recipe, keep in mind that rice, especially the long-grain varieties, generally break down and turn into an unpleasant mush from slow cooking. Add it instead toward the end of cooking time, or cook it separately and serve the slow-cooked food over the rice. The exceptions, of course, are short-grained rice, which can stand up to long cooking, and recipes such as rice pudding or kugel, in which the foods are cooked on high for a relatively short period of time. Congee, an Asian soup, actually benefits from breaking down during a long cooking, where a gruel-like consistency is part of its charm. Pasta dishes should be treated in a similar manner to rice dishes—cook pasta separately from other ingredients in a recipe, then combine before serving.
CHAPTER 2
Appetizers