The Great American Slow Cooker Book (27 page)

1
Set a large skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes, then add the oil, swirling it around the hot surface. Crumble in the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, between 4 and 8 minutes. Transfer the browned beef into the slow cooker with a slotted spoon.

2
Stir in the pasta, tomatoes, bell pepper, okra, broth, wine, tomato paste, basil, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and salt. Keep stirring until the tomato paste has dissolved into the mix.

3
Cover and cook on low, stirring once or twice, for 4 hours, or until the pasta is tender and the flavors have blended.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
This isn’t a Chinese dish at all. Rather, it was a favorite in American cafeterias, diners, and automats in the 1950s and ’60s: a ground beef and pasta casserole stocked with vegetables and served in bowls. We’ve added okra and spiced it up a bit.

•
The bell pepper should be sliced into thin strips, each no more than ¼ inch wide.

•
Switch out other shapes of whole wheat pasta you prefer (or as your pantry allows): ziti, rotini, fusilli, rotelle, or radiatori. But don’t use small pasta shapes like orzo—or any sort of noodle. Both will dissolve too quickly into the sauce.

SHORTCUTS
Use frozen bell pepper strips and frozen sliced okra, thawing them completely before adding to the slow cooker.

1
Stir the ground beef with the soy sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chile paste, five-spice powder, and garlic powder in the slow cooker until the ground beef is broken up and coated in the spices. Add the vegetables and toss gently.

2
Cover and cook on low, stirring once halfway through the cooking, for 3 hours in a small slow cooker, 3½ hours in a medium slow cooker, or 4 hours in a large slow cooker, or until the ground beef is cooked through and the spices have blended into a sauce.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Okay, this one’s hardly authentic, but the classic flavors can be made into an easy casserole without having to heat up the stove.

•
We reduced the cooking time here a bit so that the vegetables have a chance to stay crisp. Don’t worry: the ground beef will be cooked through, provided you broke it into small bits as you stirred in the condiments and spices.

•
Use any blend of frozen mixed vegetables, although the stir-fry blends will keep the dish more in line with the wok original. Just make sure the blend is not already spiced or sauced.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Five-spice powder is a ground spice mix said to incorporate five basic flavor components: sour, sweet, bitter, savory, and salty. What’s in any given bottle can vary, but look for cinnamon or cassia, star anise, and cloves; the mix may or may not include salt. You can also make your own: Toast 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 4 whole cloves, 2 star anise, and a 2-inch cinnamon stick broken into several pieces in a dry skillet set over medium heat, stirring constantly, until aromatic and even lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature (about 1 hour), then grind the spices in a spice grinder or mini
food processor until powdery, producing about ¼ cup powder. Seal in a jar and store at room temperature for up to 6 months.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
Are frozen vegetables
real
food? You bet. Vegetables to be frozen are often picked at the height of their ripeness because they will have no time to ripen in transport. They sometimes even have a higher vitamin and nutrition signature, thanks to quick-freezing methods in the fields.

Serve It Up!
This casserole isn’t all that soupy, so if you serve it with cooked rice, offer a condiment like hoisin sauce or even bottled hot sauce on the side.

1
Spread the pumpkin seeds in a large, dry skillet and toast them over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they brown and start to pop, about 4 minutes. Pour them into the slow cooker.

2
Set the skillet back over the heat; scatter the bacon bits inside. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is a little crunchy, between 5 and 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to the slow cooker (leaving the drippings behind).

3
Add the onion to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, even a little browned in places, between 4 and 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few seconds. Grab that slotted spoon again and transfer the onion to the cooker.

4
Brown the ground beef in the skillet, stirring once in a while, until there’s no hint of raw color anywhere, up to 8 minutes for a big batch. Scrape the beef into the slow cooker.

5
Stir in the pumpkin, broth, tomatoes, ancho chile powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until the stew has thickened a bit and the pumpkin pieces are spoon-tender.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
This spectacular ground beef stew is good enough for a dinner party, particularly on a chilly evening.

•
Toasted pumpkin seeds offer a musky sweetness, a sophisticated bite in this otherwise straightforward fare.

•
There’s no set amount of ancho chile powder here, so you can determine the heat level.

•
We tried this stew with beef broth, but the results were too heavy. lighter, brighter chicken broth lets the more complex flavors come through with clarity.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Green pumpkin seeds, often called by the Spanish name pepitas (
peh-PEE-tahs
), are the hulled bits from inside more standard, beige pumpkin seeds. (They can also be the hulled seeds of certain other winter squash varieties.) Look for them with the nuts or in the produce section of larger supermarkets.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
To cube a pumpkin, cut the gourd into wedge-shaped chunks, then use a serrated spoon or a small paring knife to scrape the seeds and the damp membranes from the flesh. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the rind from each chunk, and cut the wedges into smaller bits, here about 1 inch each.

Serve It Up!
This stew is perhaps best served over rice—but go beyond the standard. Try medium-grain brown rice or even firmer red rice, quite nutty and aromatic. Or skip the rice entirely and serve it over warmed, canned, drained hominy or even cooked wheatberries. To gussy up the presentation, pass several condiments at the table for embellishing individual bowls: plain yogurt or sour cream, chopped cilantro leaves, diced red onion, and even diced mango.

1
Warm a large skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes, then swirl in the oil. Crumble the ground beef into the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, with no raw color anywhere, between 4 and 10 minutes. Use a
slotted spoon to transfer the ground beef to the slow cooker.

2
Stir in the onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, wine, cream, basil, tomato paste, oregano, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

3
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, stirring twice, or until the sauce is thick, creamy, decadent, and ready for pasta.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
There may be no more quintessential Italian-American dish than a meat sauce like this one, a slow cooker riff on the classic ragù bolognese. All the components blend into a luscious sauce, ready to be ladled onto a plate of warm pasta—or layered in a baked pasta casserole.

•
For a more sophisticated finish, substitute unsalted butter for the olive oil, or use a combination of the two.

•
Use only fresh herbs for their bright, summery taste—a better foil to the complex, rich flavors.

•
The sauce freezes exceptionally well. Cool for 20 minutes in the cooker, then ladle it into plastic or glass containers to be sealed and frozen for up to 6 months.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
Mincing carrots can be a chore, especially when they roll around the cutting board. The best technique is to peel them, then slice them across into 4- or 5-inch segments. Cut these segments in half lengthwise, then each part in half again, and then keep slicing them until you whittle them all down into long, thin matchsticks. Gather several matchsticks together and slice them crosswise into tiny bits, each about ⅛ inch long.