I used to have a cheap Tesco Slow Cooker and tried this recipe once before but alas my cheap slow cooker just was up to the job..... ever..... seriously after a few months sporadic use the only thing it was good for was keeping stuff warm. It couldn't actually cook anything. So for Christmas I asked my parents for a newer, slightly better (branded, because I'm a snob) slow cooker.
Meet the newest addition to the Walton kitchen.......... Betty Crocker... The Crock Pot.....
So onto the recipe. There are no exact measurements as it really does depend on the size of your slow cooker and your own personal taste, but this is the ultimate chuck it all in and forget about it dish.
I started with an unsmoked, boiled gammon joint. This one took 1.5 hours to cook but refer to you gammons packaging for more details. A good rule of thumb is 30 minutes per 500g plus an extra 30 minutes. I also changed the water every 30 minutes to get rid of some of the salt as this dish can taste very salty otherwise.
Next I threw in some frozen veg. This again is really up to you but I went for broccoli, spinach and peas as these were in the freezer. You can also use fresh veg, it's completely up to you.
Now we want to season this baby. I'm not adding any salt as gammon is very salty anyway but I delved into the spice rack for some goodies. I threw in some cayenne pepper, smoked paprika (quite a lot as love the smokey flavour), some mixed herbs, celery salt, and chilli powder. Again this is down to your own taste buds. I can't give you any exact measurements as I just gave each one a shake straight into the pot. They're all syn free so it's all good.
Finally we need to add our sauce. It's pretty basic but effective. A jar of passata, a tin of baked beans and a tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce. Yeah check me out looking all upmarket with my Waitrose tins and jars. To be perfectly honest the only reason I use Waitrose is so I can scan my Waitrose card and get a hot drink at the end. They usually have out a beautiful afternoon blend which it a blend of black and green tea. Lovely with a dash of milk.
Now just turn your slow cooker onto low and leave for 6-8 hours. Here's how it looked before cooking. I prepared this the night before and just turned Betty on as I left for work so we could come home to delicious smells.
Yum yum delicious stew ready to shovel into my face as soon as I get in from work. Just take two forks and shred the gammon joint up like pulled pork. We served with pasta (which Dale initially needed convincing on, but he should have just trusted wifey because it totally works) and 40g of low fat cheese for our healthy extra A choice. All in all a pretty good success.
Hope you enjoyed this recipe. I'm hoping to upload more soon.
Until next time
Emma
