Slow Cooker Sausage and Black Eyed Bean Soup with Beet Greens

Happy New Year! What, it’s still January isn’t it? Here in Greece we say Happy New Year till February! I hope 2014 turns out to be the year we’ve all been waiting for.

I posted this recipe on The Foodie Corner a while ago, and it was the first recipe of the new year there too. I thought it was appropriate as it sort of represents a few of my goals for my Greek blog. Plus it’s got black eyed beans and greens in it, which are reminiscent of Hoppin’ John – a good luck dish eaten in the States. What better for a New Year’s recipe?

In case you’re wondering what those goals are and how they can be represented by a soup, I’ll explain. This soup is:
1. Healthy. I want to post more healthy recipes (you know, in amongst the chocolate cakes and baked brie).
2. Tasty but also frugal. Planning my food shopping, economising and avoiding waste; all happening in 2014.
3. The recipe is my own. I opened the fridge and let my imagination get a work out (I literally just put whatever I found, in the soup). I like that and want to do more of it.
4. It’s a slow cooker recipe. My slow cookers are going to be getting even more use this year.
5. Did I mention the black eyed beans and greens? Green as in the color of dollars? Yeah. Another goal. Preferably in euro but I won’t be picky.

So here’s my lucky soup recipe. It’s one of the good ones, you know, plop it all in the slow cooker and do something else for the rest of the day! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 c. dried black eyed beans (no need to pre-soak… yay)
1 c. liquid from draining pumpkin puree (I told you, imagination! Obviously you can substitute with water)
3 c. hot water
200 gr. beef sausage, without casings, sliced
1 large handful of beet greens (I used the smaller ones with a thinner stalk, but you can use any of them, they cook for long enough to soften)
1 ½ celery stalk, sliced
½ yellow pepper, chopped
1 medium carrot, grated (I grated it to hide it from The Mister, you can just slice it)
1 ½ Tbs tomato paste (the thick puree that comes in a tube or small can)
1 tsp mixed dried herbs
½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 parmesan rind
1 tsp coarse salt
extra grated parmesan for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients apart from the last three (parmesan rind, salt and extra parmesan) to the slow cooker. Turn on low and cook for at least 10 hours, or till the soup is thickened and the beans are soft.
2. Midway add the parmesan rind. (I forgot and added it for the last hour. This was not enough. If you’re going to be away add it in the beginning).
3. Towards the end of cooking, taste the soup and add salt if needed. The sausage may be salty enough (it wasn’t for me). Also they say that salt doesn’t help dry beans to cook, so I thought it would be best added after they have softened.
4. If you want you can use an immersion blender to thicken the soup more. Just pulse once or twice. Or transfer one cup of soup to a blender, pulse, and return to the slow cooker and stir in.
5. Serve with grated parmesan. Feta might be a nice alternative too.

Slow Cooker Giouvarlakia – Meatballs in Egg-lemon Sauce or Soup

Tags

avgolemono, crockpot, egg lemon sauce, Giouvarlakia, Greek, lemon, meatballs, minced meat, potatoes, slow cooker, soup, vegetables

For a while now I’ve been meaning to try and adapt this classic Greek recipe for preparation in the slow cooker. It’s one of those things I usually remember at the wrong time, like when I haven’t defrosted the minced meat. Finally, on Saturday I remembered to take the meat out of the freezer, buy parsley, and properly plan my experiment for Sunday. This had to be a weekend endeavour for me, as I knew the meatballs wouldn’t need all day in the slow cooker, and my working hours have me away from home for at least 9.5 hours on weekdays.

Giouvarlakia are meatballs made with rice in the mixture, cooked in water or stock and served (traditionally) in egg-lemon soup (Avgolemono). If you don’t fancy soup, this version makes the juice just thick enough to act as a sauce (albeit a runny one), ideal for being mopped up with fresh crusty bread. Chips (French fries) are also good vessels to use for plate cleaning in this case. The resulting meatballs are similar to the insides of these stuffed courgettes, but are much easier to make.

I started by prepping the veg, cutting it into fairly small pieces to cook quicker, and getting it going in the Crockpot. I then made my Giouvarlakia, slightly on the large side so as to delay cooking time a bit and allow enough time for the potatoes and carrots to soften. They were bigger than golf ball size, with about 3-4 level tablespoons of mixture in each one. The amounts stated below gave me nine meatballs. I used a 4 quart Crockpot and the meat, perched on top of the veg, was partially submerged in the 3 cups of water.

Slow Cooker Giouvarlakia

Serves 3

Ingredients

1 medium sized potato, cut into smallish pieces (approx. 3-5 cm or 1-2 inches)
2 small carrots, sliced
1 celery stick cut into chunks
3 cups of water or stock
500g minced meat (I used a mix of beef and pork, you can use just beef if preferred)
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 Tbs parsley, chopped finely
5 Tbs rice for risotto (Arborio or similar)
2 tsp salt, divided
¼ tsp pepper (I used white)
1 tsp olive oil
2 eggs
1 large lemon, juice

Instructions

1. Place potatoes, carrots and celery in the bottom of the slow cooker insert and pour in the water. If you want to help things along and maybe shorten cooking time, you can use boiling water. I used 2 cups cold, 1 cup boiling. Sprinkle one teaspoon of salt over veg and water. Turn on slow cooker to low.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat, onion, parsley, rice, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and oil. Mix well with your hands till it comes together, but don’t over mix so the meatballs aren’t too dense.
3. Shape the mixture into meatballs and place on top of the veg in the slow cooker. Some won’t be completely submerged, that’s fine.
4. Leave them to cook for about 6 hours and check for doneness. You can use a thermometer or break one in two and take a peek. I find that the thermometer is best, as sometimes meat in the slow cooker keeps a sort of pinky colour, even if it’s well over the required temperature. Mine were in for 6 ½ hours on low and were done, as was the veg. During cooking (after about 3 hours) I also turned them upside down once, using barbeque tongs, but I’m sure they would have been fine even if I hadn’t disturbed them at all.
5. When the meatballs are ready take them out of the slow cooker with a slotted spoon (keep them warm as best you can, but don’t worry too much). In a mixing bowl beat the eggs and lemon juice till well combined. Place the bowl next to the slow cooker, and using a ladle, slowly add small amounts of hot juice into the egg mixture, beating continuously. Start with about one tablespoon at a time, and gradually increase the amount of juice added to the bowl. This is called tempering the eggs and it needs to be done so they don’t scramble. When most of the juice from the Crockpot has been transferred to the egg mixture, and the bowl feels warm to the touch, pour the mixture back into the insert. Take the insert out of the base and move it round a bit, so the sauce goes all round the veg, and place it back into the slow cooker.
6. Put the meatballs back into the sauce (or soup!), cover and leave for about 5 minutes till it’s all warmed through again. Keep an eye on it so the egg doesn’t misbehave!
7. Serve with fresh crusty bread and feta cheese.

Note: If you want to enjoy this as a soup, I suggest you use 4 cups of stock instead of the 3 cups of water.

Slow Cooker Meatball Mania!
Slow Cooker Meatballs with Orange Marmalade, by The Chic Life
Slow Cooker Asian Meatballs, by Taste and Tell
Apple, Turkey and Cheddar Meatballs Crockpot Recipe, by A Year of Slow Cooking
Almost Dukan Friendly Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs, by On Top of Spaghetti

Revithia from Sifnos (Traditional Chickpea Soup)

Tags

chickpeas, crockpot, garbanzo, revithia, slow cooker, soup

Antique German silver spoon on kind loan from The Collector

Well, it had to come to this.. me writing a post while waiting for the metro. Oops, now on the metro..! Lately it seems that time is running away from me, or rather sprinting away at top speed. Since my last post a couple of things have happened to keep me busy (a trip to a food & drink exhibition in England, burglars breaking into my flat, you know, everyday stuff) but mostly my energy is being sapped by The Day Job.

Anyway, yesterday I managed to go back to a recipe I tried a while ago. In my last post I mentioned trying something that turned out mediocre. Well, I fixed it! This time it’s good. And it’s ideal for this week as today is Holy Wednesday (for the Greek Orthodox Church) and we have decided to go meatless until Easter Sunday. Nice and traditional and a good opportunity to detox a little, with Revithia Soup from the beautiful island of Sifnos. Revithia is the Greek word for chickpeas or garbanzo beans. On Sifnos they cook the soup in clay pots that go in the oven overnight on a low temperature. So, guess where I cooked it? The slow cooker of course!!

I’ve tried cooking chickpeas in the slow cooker in the past, as I cook other types of beans, but the result wasn’t as nice as the tinned variety which has a lovely consistency. When I tried this recipe the first time, the soup was a little bland, but the actual beans were very nice. So I drained them and used them in a salad (the pretty picture below) and this gorgeous sandwich filling from Two Peas and Their Pod. This time round I thought I’d make a simple change and try it again as a soup. I substituted some of the water with veggie broth and it made all the difference. The soup turned out really tasty but it’s still nice and light, with a delicate flavor. If you make a big batch you can eat all the soup you want, then drain the rest of the beans and use them as you would the canned sort. Or divide them into cupfuls, stick them in plastic zip lock bags and freeze them for later. You could even keep the broth and use it in stews etc. How sensible is that?

Revithia from Sifnos (Traditional Chickpea Soup)
Serves 2 (generously)

What you’ll need
1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) soaked overnight
½ Tbs baking soda
1 yellow onion (peeled and cut in half)
3 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp salt
4-5 grinds of black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 cups vegetable broth
2.5 cups water

What you do

1)      As I mentioned above, the chickpeas need to be soaked overnight before they are cooked. Stick them in a bowl, cover with loads of water and leave them for 8-12 hours.
2)      Drain the beans and discard the water. Sprinkle the baking soda over the beans and mix well. Leave them for 10 minutes or longer and then rinse really really well with fresh water. You need to the give them at least 5 rinses otherwise they go black (apparently).
3)      Put them in the slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients. I don’t chop the onion because the bits annoy me, but you can if you want.
4)      Cook for at least 8 hours on low and check for doneness. Mine were on for 9.5 hours (because I was at work) and they were lovely.
5)      Chuck the onion if it wasn’t chopped.
6)      Serve with lots of fresh lemon juice and bread.

Colourful salad with lettuce, valeriana, red bell pepper, tuna and chickpeas

Feed a cold… (Egg-lemon Chicken Soup)

Tags

avgolemono, chicken, egg-lemon, soup

So my second post is up much sooner than I thought it would be! The Mister has been attacked by a vicious cold and has been sitting hugging a box of tissues for the past couple of days. So yesterday we had egg-lemon chicken soup for dinner. A bowl full of goodness that’s great any day, but especially great if you’re feeling poorly. I was actually planning on making it soon anyway, since it fits in nicely with the healthy eating plan I’m following these days. Its nutrition comes from loads of veggies and chunks of juicy chicken, cooked in a lovely broth. I think the lemon also gives it an extra boost with its vitamin C.
Here in Greece this is a very popular dish; we call it “Avgolemono” meaning Egg (Avgo)-Lemon (Lemoni). Don’t ask why lemoni turns into lemono… Greek is a complicated language!
Normally, I would have cooked the chicken in the slow cooker, and then used the liquid produced from that to make the soup. However, since this was an emergency and the appropriate supermarket visit could only be made after work, I had to do it the traditional way. Which is fine, and still pretty easy!
Sometimes new cooks are a little intimidated by this soup, as you have to temper the eggs at the end. This is much easier than people think, you just have to be patient and a little organized! So, here goes…
(Oh, wait. This is actually my own recipe! Cool!)

Chicken Avgolemono (Egg-Lemon) Soup

You’ll need:
3 litres of water (see? easy)
1 small chicken, about 1.2 kg, bone in, cut into four or five pieces (um, let the butcher do that bit)
1 medium onion, peeled
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into medium sized pieces
2 carrots, peeled or scraped (or just washed!) and cut into smallish pieces
1 small celeriac (celery root) about 300gr, peeled and cut into medium sized pieces
½ bunch of celery (in Greece celery looks like parsley and comes in bunches) or 2 sticks of celery (the thick whiteish kind), chopped
½ bunch of parsley, chopped
Salt & Pepper
½ cup of rice
2 eggs
Juice of 1 or 2 lemons (depending on how lemony you like it)

What you do:

1. First of all, before you start, take the lemons and eggs out of the fridge. It’s best if they are at, or near, room temperature when you use them at the end.
2. Bring the water to the boil in a large saucepan. Remember that the level will rise when you add all the other ingredients. In the meantime rinse the chicken under cold water. Always be careful with poultry and clean all surfaces it has come into contact with, with warm soapy water (otherwise you might end up with a cold and salmonella!).
3. When the water is boiling add some salt, the onion (whole) and the chicken pieces. Let the meat boil on a medium high heat, and skim any foam off the surface. Or don’t bother, I didn’t and nothing bad happened!
4. Boil the chicken until the meat falls easily off the bone (take a piece out and test it by pulling apart with a fork, the meat should separate from the bone easily, if in doubt leave it in a bit longer!). This should take about 40 minutes.
5. Take the chicken pieces out of the pan and turn the heat down so it’s not bubbling away and evaporating. Let the meat cool (really, let it cool, the tips of my fingers still hurt) before picking it from the bones. If there was some skin, remove it and throw it away. My bones go straight into the slow cooker for overnight stock (more about that another time). Break the meat into chunks and set aside.
6. Bring the soup back to the boil and add all the vegetables, some more salt and some pepper. Now, depending on how soft you want the veggies, either let them boil for about 10 minutes before adding the rice, or add it straight away. Just remember each time you add something the liquid should be boiling, and then left to come back to the boil if it’s cooled down by whatever went in. Then turn the heat down to a good simmer.
7. When the rice is half done (after about 10 minutes), throw in the chicken chunks to warm through. Both the veggies and rice need a minimum of about 20 minutes each, so calculate your timings based on that. The great thing about soup is that you don’t have to be 100% precise!
8. At some point during all this you can take the onion out. Either mash it up and put it back in, or chuck it.
9. After the soup is ready (veg and rice cooked/soft, chicken warm) turn the heat right down. It’s time to do the egg-lemon mixture. Get organised. Bring all your utensils near (a tablespoon, a ladle and a whisk). In a medium sized bowl (not a small one) beat the eggs a bit. Pour in the lemon juice and continue beating. Bring your bowl near the stove top. Take the pan off the heat and put it next to the bowl. With a tablespoon, take a spoonful of soup (just the liquid) and add it to the bowl with the egg-lemon, beating continuously. Repeat with another spoonful. And again. And again. Keep beating! Basically you want to bring the temperature of the eggs up -slowly- so they cook without scrambling. Keep adding spoonfuls of the hot soup into the mixture (one spoonful at a time). Feel the side of the bowl. If it’s getting warm, switch to a ladle so you get larger quantities of soup into your eggs. When your mixture is looking more like the soup, and is warm/hot, you can carefully pour it into the pan, stirring continuously. There, that was it!

Serve the soup with extra lemon, freshly ground pepper and crusty bread. This makes enough for four people.

Tip: If you want to make the soup thicker, you can blend some or all of the veg before putting in the rice and chicken. This means it will take longer as you’ll have to wait for the veg to soften before you can blend the soup and continue with the rice. However, this helps if you have to hide certain vegetables that people think they don’t like 😉 Use an immersion blender, anything else would be too faffy and you’d get annoyed with me and stop reading my blog.

Enjoy! Or, Get well soon!