Now that the cool weather is moving in, I thought it would be nice to talk about slow oven cooking.  This past week I did a lot of it.  As often happens when food cooks overnight in my oven, I was awakened periodically by its extraordinary fragrance.  You have to try it to believe it; no matter what you make, the smell is amazing. 

I started the week with lentils and tomato sauce by filling the soup pot with 1 cup dry brown lentils, a large can of pureed tomatoes, a can of water, 2 sliced onions, 2 sliced stalks of celery, 2 sliced carrots, 2 T. honey, 2 t. cumin, 2 t. curry, 1 t. turmeric, salt and pepper.  Then I added more water to cover the lentils and vegetables by a couple of inches.  It cooked all night in a covered pot at 225, and made a great lunch the next day.  OK, I admit it, it made a great breakfast, too.  I couldn’t resist; it just smelled so great in the morning.

One thing I have noticed about cooking lentils in a slow oven, by the way, is that they don’t break apart when you cook them.  Even the fragile little red/orange ones remain intact when you cook them in a slow oven.  That’s because this cooking method keeps them still, so they hardly get moved around at all.  In contrast, cooking on the stove continually moves the lentils from the bottom to the top of the saucepan, and the ongoing turbulent movement rapidly breaks them up.

Last week I also made turkey stock, and then followed that up with turkey soup made from the stock, leftover turkey bits, and vegetables.  Here’s how to make the stock:  Place an entire turkey carcass (all that is left after leftovers) into a soup pot and fill it halfway with water (maybe ½-2/3 gallon).  Place the covered pot into the oven and set the temperature to 225.  Chicken carcasses make good stock, too.

The next morning I turned off the oven, and let the stock cool.  Hours later, I set a colander above a second large pot, and lined the colander with an old, clean dishtowel.  You can also use a few layers of cheesecloth, or even a few paper towels.  Then I poured the liquid (and bones, etc.) into the lined colander, never allowing the liquid in the colander to rise above the edges of the cloth.  The resulting stock was clear, caramel-colored, and fragrant.  I divided it among a few glass jars (2-4 cups each), which I froze and dated for future use. 

Sometimes, if I am inclined and have time after the stock is clarified, I divide up the bones and bits into three piles: meat, bones, and other (like cartilage).  Otherwise, if I don’t have time, I just throw the whole mess away.  The meat goes into one container of stock, the bones go into the trash, and the other stuff goes in the dog bowl. 

To make the soup, I left the contents of one jar of stock in the soup pot.  Then I added turkey meat, two thinly sliced onions, 2 diced sweet potatoes, ½ c. dry white beans, a few garlic cloves (peeled), and 1 t. each of salt and pepper.  Then I put the pot into the 225-degree oven.  Then it woke me several times through the night.

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A post about slow oven cooking would not be complete without the recipe for Cindy & George’s black beans.  It probably will not surprise you to learn that Cindy, our talented Webmaster, and George, her husband, are great cooks.  Last week she stopped by with some of their fabulous black beans.  This is a good weekend project, started 24 hours before you intend to eat it.  They cook it on top of the stove, but here it is adapted for slow oven cooking: 

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. dried black beans, 2 large onions, 2 large green peppers, 8 garlic cloves, 6 bay leaves, coarse salt, black pepper, olive oil, 1 t apple cider vinegar, cumin.

STEP 1 – EVENING
After dinner, clean and rinse beans carefully to remove any small pebbles. Add to a large soup pot along with 1 onion (quartered), 1 green pepper (seeded and quartered), 1 t. ground cumin, 1 t. coarse salt, 1 t. black pepper, 1.5 T olive oil, 4 large peeled garlic cloves (each slit lengthwise down the middle), and 3 bay leaves.  Note that some of the vegetables are being saved for later.  Add enough water to cover beans by 3-4 inches, cover and place the pot into a 225 oven (or crock pot) to cook all night.

STEP 2 – MORNING
In the morning, remove lid, check water line and add more to keep the level 1-2 inches above beans.  Skim any foam and discard.  Stir occasionally.  Cook uncovered for a couple of hrs.  Check water line.  Discard first set of bay leaves.  Transfer vegetables to a blender, puree, and return to pot.  The beans should be cracked and tender, but not mushy.  Add 3 more fresh bay leaves to the pot, plus black pepper to taste.  Cover the pot again and continue to cook. 

STEP 3 – AFTERNOON
Some time in the afternoon, warm 1/4 cup olive oil on low heat, add remaining 4 garlic cloves (diced) and stir.  Do not allow garlic to brown.  Add remaining onion (diced) and stir 8-10 min until glassy and tender.  Add green pepper (diced, seeds removed), and cook until soft.  Then add 1 t. apple cider vinegar, 1 t. cumin, and a little salt and pepper to the vegetables, stir, and add to the bean pot that is still cooking at low temp.  Continue to cook beans covered for another 1-2 hrs on low heat.  Serve with sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, hot sauce, cilantro, or whatever else you choose.  Makes 12-15 servings.  Freezes well.

It’s impossible to go wrong with slow oven cooking.  The flavors caramelize and blend to become complex and satisfying.  Although it is true that eating well takes more planning, it does not take more time.  In the case of slow oven cooking, it takes less.
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