Sample Recipe from The French Slow Cooker: Slow-Cooked Salmon with Lemon and Green Olives
Serves 6Mild green olives are a nice contrast, in both color and flavor, to the richness of salmon. The cooking time will depend on how thick the fish is and whether you prefer it rare or well done. To check for doneness, make a small slit in the thickest part of the salmon and peek inside. For rare, the fish should appear translucent; for well done, it will be opaque and flake easily. Serve this at room temperature on a bed of baby salad greens for a perfect summer meal.
1 large lemon
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup water
1 thick salmon fillet (about 2 pounds), cut into 6 pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh fl at-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped rinsed capers
Thinly slice the lemon and remove the seeds. Scatter half of the shallots in a large slow cooker. Add half of the lemon slices and the water.
Rinse the salmon pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the flesh side with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place the salmon skin side down in the slow cooker. Scatter the remaining lemon slices and shallots on top.
Cover and cook on low for 1 to 1½ hours, or until the salmon is cooked to taste. Check for doneness by making a small slit in the thickest part.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk the oil with the lemon juice, zest, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the olives, parsley, and capers.
With a large spatula, transfer the salmon, lemon, and shallots to dinner plates. Drizzle with the sauce and serve hot or at room temperature.
Butternut Bisque
Serves 6 to 8The sunny color and mild, sweet flavor of this soup make it very appealing. Serve it as a first course before a roast chicken, or pour it into mugs to enjoy with a ham sandwich.
1 large butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large sweet apple, such as Fuji or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped
6 cups Chicken Broth, , vegetable broth, or water
Salt
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
Sliced apples, for garnish
In a large slow cooker, combine the squash, onion, apple, and broth. Add 1 teaspoon salt.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until the vegetables are very soft. Let cool slightly. Transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Add the cream and nutmeg and blend again. Reheat if necessary. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
Spoon the soup into serving bowls, drizzle each serving with a teaspoon of heavy cream, garnish with the nutmeg and apple slices, and serve hot.
From the Back Cover
Plug it in and Cook with French Flair
“I’d bet that if French cooks could get their hands on Michele Scicolone’s French Slow Cooker, which is filled with smart, practical, and convenient recipes, they’d never let it go.” — Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table
With a slow cooker, even novices can turn out dishes that taste as though they came straight out of the kitchen of a French grandmère. Provençal vegetable soup. Red-wine braised beef with mushrooms. Chicken with forty cloves of garlic. Even bouillabaisse. With The French Slow Cooker, all of these are as simple as setting the timer and walking away. Michele Scicolone goes far beyond the usual slow-cooker standbys of soups and stews, with Slow-Cooked Salmon with Lemon and Green Olives, Crispy Duck Confit, and Spinach Soufflé. And for dessert, how about Ginger Crème Brûlée? With The French Slow Cooker, the results are always magnifique.
Michele Scicolone is the author of sixteen cookbooks, including The Italian Slow Cooker, Entertaining with the Sopranos, and The Sopranos Family Cookbook, a New York Times bestseller. Her 1000 Italian Recipes and A Fresh Taste of Italy were nominated for James Beard and International Association of Culinary Professionals Awards. A cooking teacher and Italian culinary tour guide, she writes about food, wine, and travel for many publications, including the New York Times, Bon Appétit, Family Circle, Food & Wine, and the Washington Post. She lives in New York City.
About the Author
Michele Scicolone is the author of The Italian Slow Cooker, Entertaining with the Sopranos, The Sopranos Family Cookbook, a New York Times bestseller, and Bistro Laurent Tourondel. Her 1000 Italian Recipes and A Fresh Taste of Italy were nominated for James Beard and International Association of Culinary Professionals Awards.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Butternut Bisque
The sunny color and mild, sweet flavor of this soup make it very appealing. Serve it as a first course before a roast chicken, or pour it into mugs to enjoy with a ham sandwich.
SERVES 6 TO 8
1 large butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large sweet apple, such as Fuji or Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and chopped
6 cups Chicken Broth (page 40), store-bought chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
Salt
½ cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
Sliced apples, for garnish
In a large slow cooker, combine the squash, onion, apple, and broth. Add 1 tea¬spoon salt.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until the vegetables are very soft. Let cool slightly. Transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Add the cream and nutmeg and blend again. Reheat if necessary. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.
Spoon the soup into serving bowls, drizzle each serving with a teaspoon of heavy cream, garnish with the nutmeg and apple slices, and serve hot.
Chicken with Escargot Butter
In my opinion, the best thing about the French classic Escargots Bourguignons is not the snails but, rather, the mouthwatering parsley and garlic butter that covers them. It's too good to be relegated to the occasional escargot. I like to slather the butter under the skin of a chicken before 'roasting' it in the slow cooker.
SERVES 4
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons minced shallot or onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 chicken (about 4 pounds)
In a small bowl, mash the butter with the parsley, shallot, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
Remove the neck and giblets from the chicken cavity and reserve them for another use. Trim away any excess fat.
Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper to taste. Carefully lift the skin covering the legs and breasts. With your fingers, spread the garlic butter on the meat, beneath the skin. Place a little of the mixture inside the chicken. Place the chicken in a large slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until the chicken is tender and the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh measures 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and cut it into serving pieces. Skim the fat from the pan juices. Drizzle the pan juices over the chicken and serve hot.
Calamari Niçoise with Black Olives
Calamari turn tender and sweet after long, slow cooking. Serve over pasta, hot rice, or couscous.
SERVES 6
¼ cup olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chopped peeled (see page 18) and seeded fresh tomatoes, or one 28-ounce can tomatoes, drained and chopped
Salt
3 pounds calamari, cleaned and cut into 1-inch rings
½ cup chopped imported pitted black olives
Pinch of piment d'Espelette (see page 18) or crushed red pepper
Chopped fresh basil
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer.
Pour the sauce into a large slow cooker. Stir in the calamari. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, or until the calamari are tender.
Stir in the olives and piment d'Espelette. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Sprinkle with basil and serve hot.
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