Cook Slow recipes: from beef ragu to oxtail bunny chow

Dig the slow cooker out of the cupboard and whip up some easy autumnal meals where the gadget does all the hard work

Slow and steady wins the race (Ria Osborne)

Slow-cooked beef ragu

I’ve tried out so many bolognese and ragu recipes over the years, but this one truly is the best. OK, there may be a few ingredients in here, like the milk, that might sound strange, but trust me, it works. The milk adds a real richness to this ultimate version of a family classic. I love to serve this with crispy fried gnocchi, a generous grating of parmesan cheese and some freshly torn basil.

Serves 4

1-2tbsp olive oil
600g skirt steak, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
2tbsp plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
100g smoked pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, cubed
2 onions, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
3 celery sticks, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
100ml milk
2 heaped tbsp tomato purée​
200ml white wine
600ml beef stock if using the conventional method or 400ml if using the slow cooker method
Pinch of caster sugar
Salt and pepper

To serve

1tbsp olive oil
2 x 400g shop-bought packs of potato gnocchi
Parmesan cheese, grated
Basil leaves, torn

Conventional method

Preheat the oven to 160C. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based casserole over a high heat. Dust the beef in the seasoned flour, then place in the casserole and cook for 4-5 minutes, until golden. Remove from the pot and set aside.

Reduce the heat to low to medium. Add the pancetta, onions, carrot, celery, garlic and rosemary and cook for 6-7 minutes, until softened. Pour in the milk and reduce until it has evaporated. Stir through the tomato purée for a couple of minutes, then pour in the white wine and reduce by half.

Add the beef back in along with 600ml of stock and stir to combine. Bring up to a gentle simmer, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 4 hours, checking along the way and adding a splash of water if needed. Before serving, season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Use forks to shred some of the larger chunks of meat.

To cook the gnocchi, add a splash of oil to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the gnocchi and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy. Serve the ragu with the crispy gnocchi, with some freshly grated parmesan and torn basil leaves scattered over.

Slow cooker method

Follow steps 2-3 as above. Spoon the vegetables into your slow cooker, then add the beef. Pour in the 400ml of stock and stir well. Cover with the lid and cook on the low setting for 8 hours. Before serving, season with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Follow steps 5-6 as above.

(Ria Osborne)

Caprese chicken melt

Something magical happens when you roast tomatoes – the already sweet tomatoes start to dry out and the flavour intensifies tenfold. This recipe is based on one of my favourite dishes, the Caprese salad of tomato, mozzarella and basil. I’m not quite sure how these three humble ingredients can create such an incredible taste sensation when eaten together, but I’m not going to complain. You can put all the ingredients uncooked into your slow cooker for ease, but I like to start the process in a pan because I find that the tomatoes release too much liquid into the pot.

Serves 4

1-2tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breasts, skin on
1 red onion, thinly sliced
200g baby plum tomatoes, halved
1 x 150g ball of mozzarella, sliced
1 small ciabatta roll, torn into chunks
Small bunch of basil, shredded
Salt and pepper

Dressing

4tsp olive oil
4tsp balsamic vinegar
1tbsp runny honey
2 garlic cloves, crushed

To serve

Sauté potatoes
Crisp side salad

Conventional method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat the oil in a large shallow ovenproof pan set over a medium to high heat. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Remove from the pan, then pop in the onion and tomatoes, reduce the heat and cook for a few minutes.

Add the chicken breasts back in, season with salt and pepper and transfer to the oven. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey and garlic for the dressing. Remove the pan from the oven, then pour over the dressing. Place the slices of mozzarella on the chicken breasts, season with a little more pepper and scatter in the torn ciabatta.

Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes, until the chicken has cooked through. Before serving, scatter over the fresh basil. Serve with some sauté potatoes and a crisp salad on the side.

Slow cooker method

Follow step 2 as above. Scatter the cooked onion and tomatoes in your slow cooker, then season with salt and pepper. Place the golden chicken breasts on top, pop on the lid and cook on the low setting for 4½ hours.

While the chicken is in the slow cooker, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey and garlic for the dressing. Once the cooking time has elapsed, pour the dressing over the chicken, onion and tomatoes, then lay the mozzarella on the chicken breasts, pop the lid back on and cook on the high setting for a further 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the ciabatta chunks on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Before serving the chicken, scatter over the croutons and fresh basil. Serve with some sauté potatoes and a crisp salad on the side.

(Ria Osborne)

Oxtail bunny chow

Absolutely no bunnies were harmed in the testing of this recipe. Bunny chow is a classic South African dish of beef curry served in a hollowed-out loaf or crusty bread roll. It’s street food at its finest. Once the curry has been demolished, you then eat the bread, which has soaked up all the fiery, spicy juices from the curry. If you don’t fancy trying the oxtail, then replace it with more skirt steak.

Serves 4

12tbsp olive oil
700g oxtail
400g skirt steak, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
2tbsp plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, grated
1 green chilli, deseeded and diced
6 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick or ½tsp ground cinnamon
1 star anise
1 heaped tbsp garam masala​
1tsp nigella seeds
1tsp mustard seeds
1tsp ground turmeric
2tbsp tomato purée​
800ml beef stock if using the conventional method or 400ml if using the slow cooker method
1 x 400ml can of coconut milk
400g maris piper potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 small bakers’ loaves or 4 rolls, halved and hollowed out
Finely chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

Carrot and onion sambal

2 carrots, julienned or grated
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1tsp salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1tsp caster sugar

Conventional method

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based casserole over a medium to high heat. Dust the meat with the flour, then add to the casserole in batches and seal for 5-6 minutes, until golden. Remove from the casserole and set aside.

Add the onions, garlic, ginger (or time saver curry base) and chilli and fry for 5 minutes before adding the spices and cooking for a couple more minutes. Add the tomato purée and cook for a further minute. Pour in the 800ml of stock and coconut milk and bring up to a simmer.

Return the meat to the casserole and add the potatoes. Put the lid on and cook over a gentle heat for 3 hours. Remove the oxtail from the casserole and shred the meat from the bone. Return to the casserole and cook, uncovered, for another 15-20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened.

Towards the end of the cooking time, make the sambal. Mix the carrots with the onion, sprinkle over the salt and leave for 10 minutes, then drain the excess liquid. Add the rest of the ingredients and allow to stand for 20 minutes. Spoon into the hollowed-out rolls and garnish with the finely chopped fresh coriander. Serve the carrot and onion sambal on the side.

Slow cooker method

Follow steps 1-2 as for the conventional method, making sure you use only 400ml of stock.

Put the meat and potatoes in the slow cooker, then carefully pour in the stock mixture.

Cover with the lid and cook on the low setting for 8 hours. Follow step 5.

Remove the oxtail from the slow cooker and shred the meat from the bone, then stir the meat back into the slow cooker. Follow step 6.

Tip: leave the bread from the hollowed-out rolls to go stale, then grate it and freeze for handy breadcrumbs.

Extract from ‘Cook Slow’ by Dean Edwards is published by Hamlyn, £14.99. Photography by Ria Osborne