Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (2 fl oz/60 ml) olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 10 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1⁄2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) medium-dry sherry
- 1⁄2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) chicken or vegetable stock, homemade or purchased
- 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 butternut squash, about 2 1⁄2 lb (1.25 kg)
- 3 parsnips
- 3 large carrots
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 bunch watercress, tough stems removed and leaves chopped
Directions
- In a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and celery and sauté until softened and beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute. Pour in the sherry, stock, and vinegar and stir to dislodge any browned bits on the pan bottom. Transfer the contents of the frying pan to a slow cooker.
- Peel and seed the butternut squash and cut into chunks. Peel the parsnips and carrots and cut into chunks. Add the butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, and tarragon to the slow cooker, season with salt and pepper, and stir to blend evenly. Cover and cook on the low setting for 5 hours. The vegetables should be tender.
- Stir the lemon juice into the stew to taste, then transfer the stew to a warm serving bowl or shallow individual bowls. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, top with the watercress and a sprinkle of lemon zest, and serve.
More Recipes from The New Slow Cooker
• Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe • Slow Cooker Creamy Herbed Polenta Recipe
This excerpt has been reprinted with permission from The New Slow Cooker by Brigit Binns and published by Weldon Owen, 2013. Purchase this book from our store: The New Slow Cooker.
Awaken your taste buds with a whole new approach to slow cooking. Brigit Binns brings you more than 100 classic slow-cooked recipes are updated for today’s cook, and are bursting with fresh, bright flavors and crunchy textures. From succulent beef to melt-in-your-mouth chicken to hearty legumes, The New Slow Cooker: Comfort Classics Reinvented (Weldon Owen, 2013) contains an irresistible array of recipes your family will love. The following recipe for chicken tortilla soup is excerpted from “Vegetables.”
You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: The New Slow Cooker.
This classic cool-weather dish sparkles with color and appealing flavors. Adding the lemon zest to the warm vegetables releases its citrusy, fresh aroma, providing a fresh dimension for a traditionally hearty dish. Accompany with a green salad and crusty country bread.
