Have You Heard?! Recipes from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker

§ Banana Walnut Oat Bread
§ Spicy Black Bean Dip
§ Turkish-Style Barley Soup
§ Classic French Onion Soup
§ Spinach and Tomato Quiche
§ Louisiana Ratatouille
§ Mushroom and Artichoke Lasagna
§ Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
§ Vegetable Biriyani
§ Eggplant Lentil Ragoût
§ Parsnip and Coconut Curry
§ New Age Succotash
§ Orange-Braised Fennel
§ Cumin Beets
§ Double Chocolate Mousse Cake
§ Blackberry Peach Cobbler

The Vegetarian Slow Cooker allows anyone to prepare healthy and delicious menus with minimum attention and certain success.

Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Crostini

Everyone loves this tasty all-purpose hors d’oeuvre, which is both simple and elegant. It can be used as the first course to a dinner or as a party canapé.

Makes 28 crostini

Equipment: Small to medium (1-1/2 to 3-1/2 quart) slow cooker (see tips)
Food processor

8 cloves roasted garlic (see tips)
1 pound (500 g) white mushrooms, trimmed (see tips)
2 large French shallots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons (25 mL) oil
1/4 cup (50 mL) dry white wine or dry white vermouth (see tips)
2 tablespoons (25 mL) chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons (25 mL) heavy or whipping (35%) cream, optional
2 teaspoons (10 mL) balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
28 crostini
Crumbled soft goat cheese

To make crostini:

Preheat broiler. Brush baguette slices on both sides with olive oil and toast under broiler, turning once.

In slow cooker stoneware, combine garlic, mushrooms, shallots, oil and wine. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours, until mushrooms are soft. Drain off liquid.

Place mushroom mixture and parsley in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until ingredients are very finely chopped but not pureed. Add cream, if using, vinegar, salt and black pepper to taste and pulse two or three times to combine.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread mushroom mixture over crostini. Sprinkle goat cheese on top. Place on baking sheet and bake until cheese begins to brown and melt. Serve hot.

Tips:

If you haven’t planned ahead and roasted your garlic in the slow cooker, you can do it in the oven. Simply peel the cloves, remove the pith (the center part that often sprouts), then place the cloves on a piece of foil. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp (2 mL) olive oil over the garlic, and then fold up the foil to make a tight packet. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven for 20 minutes.

Leave small mushrooms whole. Cut larger ones into halves or quarters.

Keep a bottle of dry white vermouth on hand as it makes a satisfactory substitute for dry white wine. That way, you don’t have to open a bottle of wine when you need only a small quantity.

Cover and refrigerate the mushroom cooking liquid. It is a great addition to soups, stews and gravies, along with or instead of broth.

If you are halving this recipe, be sure to use a small (11/2 to 2 quart) slow cooker.

Make Ahead:

Complete Steps 1 and 2. Cover and refrigerate mixture for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to make the crostini, heat mushroom mixture almost to boiling point on the stovetop before spreading on crostini.

Turkish-Style Barley Soup

If you’re looking for something delightfully different but delicious, look no further. This simple soup is an exquisite combination of textures and flavors. Serve it as a light main course or in small quantities as a prelude to dinner.

Serves 8

Equipment: Medium to large (3 1/2 to 5 quart) slow cooker

1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 leeks, white part with just a bit of green, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) cracked black peppercorns
1 piece (2 inches/5 cm) cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons (25 mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) barley (see Tips)
6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable broth, divided
2 teaspoons (10 mL) sweet paprika, dissolved in 2 tablespoons (25 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 long green or red chiles, minced
3/4 cup (175 mL) full-fat yogurt or vegan alternative
2 tablespoons (25 mL) finely chopped fresh mint

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and leeks and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, salt, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add barley and toss to coat. Add 2 cups (500 mL) of the broth and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.

Stir in remaining 4 cups (1 L) of broth. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours, until barley is tender. Discard cinnamon stick.

Add paprika solution to slow cooker along with chile peppers, yogurt and mint. Cover and cook on Low for 15 minutes to meld flavors.

Tips:

After adding the yogurt, cooking on Low ensures that the soup doesn’t boil, in which case the yogurt would curdle. Use the type of barley you prefer — pearled, pot or whole. Whole (also known as hulled) barley is the most nutritious form of the grain. Barley, like all whole grains, really soaks up liquid. If you’ve refrigerated this soup and are reheating it, you’ll need to add water to ensure an appropriate consistency.

If you are halving this recipe, be sure to use a small (approx. 2 quart) slow cooker.

Make Ahead:

Complete Step 1. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to cook, complete the recipe. Because the barley soaks up liquid on sitting, add an extra 1/2 cup (125 mL) of broth or water before cooking.

Louisiana Ratatouille

Eggplant, tomato and okra stew is a classic Southern dish that probably owes its origins to the famous Mediterranean mélange ratatouille. One secret to a successful result, even on top of the stove, is not overcooking the okra, which should be added after the flavors in the other ingredients have melded.

Serves 6

Equipment: Medium (approximately 4 quart) slow cooker (see tips)

2 medium eggplants, peeled, cubed (2 inches/5 cm), sweated and drained of excess moisture (see Tips)
2 tablespoons (25 mL) oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried oregano
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) cracked black peppercorns
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) tomatoes with juice, 1 coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons (25 mL) red wine vinegar
1 pound (500 g) okra, trimmed and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) lengths, about 2 cups (500 mL) (see tips)
1 green bell pepper, diced (1/4 inch/0.5 cm)

In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, in batches, and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions to pan and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, salt and peppercorns and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes with juice and red wine vinegar and bring to a boil. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.

Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours, until hot and bubbly. Add okra and bell pepper. Cover and cook on High for 30 minutes, until okra is tender.

Tips:

Okra, a tropical vegetable, has a great flavor but it becomes unpleasantly sticky when overcooked. Choose young okra pods, 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long, that don’t feel sticky to the touch (if sticky, they are too ripe). Gently scrub the pods and cut off the top and tail. Okra can also be found in the freezer section of the grocery store. Thaw before adding to slow cooker.

Place cubed eggplant in a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt, toss well and set aside for

30 minutes to 1 hour. If time is short, blanch the pieces for a minute or two in heavily salted water. In either case, rinse thoroughly in fresh cold water and, using your hands, squeeze out excess moisture. Pat dry with paper towels and it’s ready for cooking.

If you are halving this recipe, be sure to use a small (approx. 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 quart) slow cooker.

Make Ahead:

Complete Steps 1 and 2. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to cook, complete the recipe.

These recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:

Recipes from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Over 200 Delicious Recipes by Judith Finlayson
(Robert Rose; February 2010 Softcover/$24.95)