A slow-cooker dinner for a busy weeknight host

Inviting people over on a Wednesday sounds lovely until you remember you work until five. The slow cooker is the host’s quiet ally here. You spend fifteen minutes in the morning, walk out the door, and come home to a kitchen that already smells like dinner.

Choose food that likes to be left alone

Slow cookers reward cuts that are tough and fatty and punish delicate ones. Good candidates:

• bone-in chicken thighs
• pork shoulder
• beef chuck or short ribs
• dried or canned beans, lentils and chickpeas
• hardy vegetables such as carrots, onions, potatoes and squash

Avoid lean chicken breast for a long cook (it dries out), and hold back anything that turns to mush, like zucchini or peas, until the end.

The recipe: smoky chicken and white bean stew (serves six)

In the cooker:

• 1.2 kg bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 cans (540 mL each) white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 carrots, cut in chunks
• 250 mL chicken stock
• 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp salt, plenty of black pepper
• 1 tbsp tomato paste

In the morning:

1. Layer the onion, carrots and garlic on the bottom. They act as a rack so the chicken doesn’t sit in direct heat.
2. Add the thighs, then scatter the beans, spices and tomato paste over the top.
3. Pour in the stock. It should come about halfway up, not cover everything. The chicken releases plenty of its own liquid.
4. Lid on, set to low for 7 to 8 hours (or high for 4). Then leave. Lifting the lid lets out heat and adds time.

When you get home:

1. Lift the chicken out onto a board, pull the meat off the bones with two forks and discard the bones.
2. Stir the meat back in. Taste and adjust the salt.
3. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and a handful of chopped parsley. Slow-cooked food tastes rounder than it tastes bright, and acid fixes that.

Sides that need almost no attention

You have the cooker’s work done, so keep everything else simple.

• A crusty loaf, warmed in the oven for ten minutes. If you want to bake your own on the weekend, our no-knead loaf freezes well.
• A crisp salad of shredded cabbage, apple and a mustard dressing.
• Rice or baby potatoes, started when you walk in the door.

For dessert, something made ahead and served cold keeps the evening easy. Our no-oven desserts are a good place to look.

Safety notes for slow cooking

• Don’t cook from frozen. The cooker may spend too long in the range where bacteria multiply. Thaw chicken fully in the fridge first.
• Don’t fill it past about two-thirds. Food in an overfull pot heats unevenly.
• Check doneness. Chicken should reach 74 degrees C in the thickest part. Thighs at the end of a long cook are well past this, but a quick check costs nothing.
• Dried kidney beans need a boil first. Raw red kidney beans contain a compound that can make you ill if they are slow-cooked without boiling. Canned beans are already cooked and are the easy choice.
• Keep it warm, not lukewarm. If guests arrive late, switch to the “keep warm” setting, which holds food at a safe temperature. Our guide to food safety for dinner parties covers the two-hour rule for food left out.

What can go wrong

• Watery stew. Too much liquid at the start. Take the lid off for the last 30 minutes on high, or stir in a spoonful of mashed beans to thicken.
• Bland flavour. Salt late, taste often, and finish with acid and fresh herbs.
• Mushy vegetables. Cut root vegetables larger than you think you should, and add soft ones in the last half hour.
• Dry meat. Choose thighs, not breasts, and don’t extend the cook time “just in case”.

Leftovers

The stew keeps in the fridge for three to four days in a shallow container, and it freezes well for a few months. For reheating, see our notes on leftovers: bring it to a steaming simmer, not just warm.

A calm table

The pleasure of a weeknight dinner party is that it is allowed to be modest. A pot, a loaf, a bowl of salad, and people who have also had a long day. Put the cooker in the middle of the table, hand out bowls, and let everyone serve themselves. More ideas for easy cooking at home are in our home cooking section.

This article offers general food-safety information, not medical advice. If you or a guest has a food allergy, check ingredients carefully and consult your doctor.