Slow cooking a one pot meal in the oven is an almost prehistoric way of putting tasty food on the table, so why aren't we doing it more? Alessia Horwich finds out what slow cook creations you can cook up in a stoneware pot.
There’s a brand new Le Creuset Bean Pot stuffed into the back of one of my kitchen cupboards that I’m hiding from.
It’s not because I don’t like it – as stoneware pots go it’s pretty sexy. But the problem is, other than using it as a vessel to present soup in, I don’t really know what to use it for.
You can’t put it on the hob so it’s only good for slow cooking in the oven. And yet sticking a load of ingredients in a stoneware pot and leaving them to slow cook is an almost prehistoric way of putting a delicious meal on the table.
The pot disperses the heat evenly amongst your ingredients and retains the cooking juices, intensifying flavours. So I’ve decided it’s time to clear out the cupboard, dust off the packaging and get cooking.
1) Slow cooked bean dishes
Starting at the very beginning, it’s called a bean pot and is designed for cooking up almost any sort of dried beans.
Add some water or stock and leave them to bubble away on a low temperature in the oven for a couple of hours to plump up until they are nice and soft. Then they can be used to add to other dishes, liked canned beans, only better.
You can, however, try something a bit racier and use the pot to create glorious bean stews.
The biggest success I’ve had so far has been a sort of barbecue bean pot recipe. I flavoured pre-soaked dried haricots with sugar, cinnamon, molasses, mustard powder and popped them in the pot with a wedge of belly pork, onion, garlic, thyme, a couple of cloves and some tomatoes and then left it to bubble away at gas mark 3 for 3-4 hours.
You can leave out the meat, but pork and beans make a great couple, and it adds an extra dimension to the recipe – a real bit of oomph. The beans cooked down into a sticky, meaty mishmash, into which I dipped chunks of sausage and corn on the cob. And to give it an extra kick, I stirred in a splash of rum right at the end.
2) Tagines
Onto something more exotic. Moroccan stews are traditionally cooked in clay tagines (hence the name) and so are a perfect match for the bean pot.
Slow cooking the fragrant spices perfumes all the ingredients and gives the dish time to develop big flavour. I wasn’t sure if you could get away without browning the meat, so tried with and without. Though the chicken I didn’t brown before adding to the pot was succulent, the skin was flabby and unappetising.
By far the greater success was the lamb tagine. I browned cubed shoulder of lamb with a spice mix of cayenne pepper, black pepper, paprika, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon and then some onion and garlic. After de-glazing with tomato juice, the lamb went into the bean pot with chopped tomatoes, apricots, raisins, almonds, lamb stock and a bit of honey.
It took around three hours in the oven at gas mark 2 for the meat to be meltingly tender.
Traditionally, a side of herbed couscous would be in order, but after three hours, I couldn’t wait and scooped out makeshift spoonfuls with a wedge of flatbread.
3) Refined beef stew
The Moroccans aren’t the only ones who can do a mean stew. One of my favourites is boeuf en daube, a hearty but refined French beef stew. Not only is it seriously tasty, but because it’s a slow cook recipe, you can use much cheaper cuts – good for your taste buds and your bank balance.
I rolled shin of beef in some plain flour and browned in a frying pan with carrot, celery, onion, button mushrooms and garlic. Then added the whole lot to the bean pot along with a bouquet garni, half a bottle of red wine, a slug of Madeira wine, beef stock and seasoning and put in the oven at gas mark 3 for 5-6 hours until the meat is soft.
Served up with a good dollop of creamy mash and steamed greens and you’ve got a posh dinner party dish on the cheap.
4) And the rest
There are so many other greats to create with a stoneware pot, many of which are lazy meals that do most of the work themselves. For example:
-This quail curry from Joceline Dimbleby and Rosemary Moon’s winter pork recipe will work a treat, just do the stovetop cooking in a separate pan and then transfer into the pot after.
-This delicious one pot turkey pilau recipe from Phil Vickery makes the most of the stoneware pot concept – more free time with the family with the dish is in the oven, plus less washing up to do after! You can add some curry powder to the turkey to spice things up.
- Henry Dimbleby’s Spanish chicken pot roast and his Winter vegetable herb pot roast are both classic simple supper dishes. Pop the ingredients in a pot when you get home and spend your evening doing something you enjoy. Both are very versatile dishes and taste absolutely delicious – so are just crying out for you to dig out your stoneware pot!
Personally, I am torn and cannot decide which dish to make next. But one thing’s for sure - my pot is definitely not going back in the cupboard.
Also worth your attention:
Recipe - Spanish chicken pot roast
Recipe - Lamb and roots stew