One Pot Favourites

NEED IDEAS FOR DELICIOUS stress-free dinners? Want minimal washing up at the end? Keen to use your slow cooker to set and forget? Pete Evans has you covered, with 100 simple, warming and flavoursome meals in ONE POT FAVOURITES.

You’ll be amazed at the kind of meals you can make with just one cooking vessel. So grab your pot and some utensils and start whipping up flavour-packed all-in-one meals for your family every night of the week!

OXTAIL STEW

I love to play around with classic dishes and, hoping for the best, add different spices and aromatics. This fusion dish, taking its inspiration from Vietnam and Italy, is the result of my recipe creating. Feel free to play around with it and try out other herbs, spices, proteins and vegetables.

Serves 4-6

• 1.4 kg oxtail, cut into 5 cm pieces (ask your butcher to do this)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp good-quality animal fat, plus extra if needed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 × 400 g cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed (or 800 g tomatoes, diced)
• 250 ml (1 cup) preservative-free red wine
• 5 cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• 750 ml (3 cups) Beef or Chicken Bone Broth or water
• 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, bruised with the back of a knife and cut into 3 pieces
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 5 cm lengths
• 2 carrots, halved lengthways and cut into 5 cm pieces
• 5 whole cloves
• 4 star anise
• 2 long red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Season the oxtail pieces with salt and pepper.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the fat in a roasting tin over medium-high heat. Add the oxtail pieces in batches and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Remove from the tin and set aside.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining fat to the tin if needed. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until the garlic is soft and fragrant.
5. Add the tomatoes, wine, ginger and broth to the tin, stir and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
6. Stir the lemongrass, celery, carrot, browned oxtail, cloves, star anise and chilli into the sauce.
7. Tightly seal the tin with foil and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2½-3 hours, or until the oxtail is very tender and falling off the bone. Season with salt and pepper if needed and serve.

PRESSURE COOKER 

Follow step 2. Using your pressure cooker over medium–high heat, follow steps 3–5, but add only 530 ml of broth rather than 750 ml. Follow step 6, close and lock the lid, then bring the cooker to high pressure and cook over medium heat for 40 minutes. Let the pressure drop naturally before opening the lid. Season and serve.

SLOW COOKER 

Follow steps 1–5, but add only 530 ml of broth rather than 750 ml. Transfer all the ingredients from the roasting tin to your slow cooker. Follow step 6, cover with the lid and cook on low for 8–10 hours. Season and serve.

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WHOLE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH ALMONDS & DUKKAH

‘Wow’ is all I need to say about this dish! The process of roasting a whole cauliflower is amazing and here is my Middle Eastern take on it. Feel free to be inspired by other cuisines and savour the cauliflower with your favourite herbs and spices.

Serves 4-6

• 1 large head of cauliflower (about 800 g)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil or good quality animal fat
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 1½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 × 400 g can diced tomatoes (or 400 g tomatoes, diced)
• 2 pinches of saffron
• 500 ml (2 cups) Beef or Chicken Bone Broth or water
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100 g almonds (activated if possible), toasted and chopped
• 120 g dukkah
• ½ bunch of kale, silverbeet or spinach (about 200 g), stalks removed, leaves torn (reserve the stalks for broths)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Remove the leaves and cut away the stalk from the base of the cauliflower.
3. Melt the oil or fat in a large flameproof casserole dish that will fit your whole cauliflower. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the turmeric and cumin seeds and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
4. Add the tomatoes, saffron and broth or water to the dish, stir and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
5. Place the cauliflower in the dish and spoon the sauce over the top. Cover with foil and roast, basting every 20 minutes with the sauce, for 1–1½ hours until tender. Add a little more broth or water if it starts to look dry. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little.
6. Combine the almonds and dukkah and mix well.
7. When the cauliflower is cool enough to touch, coat it with the dukkah mixture, pressing it in with your hands to form an even crust. Scatter the kale over the sauce and mix through. Return to the oven and roast, uncovered, for a further 8–10 minutes until the cauliflower crust is golden brown.

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One Pot Favourites by Pete Evans, Macmillan, RRP $39.99.