Hopefully, it won’t be too long before electrical appliance companies make temperature-controlled slow cookers with rapid heat recovery for the domestic market, then we’ll be able to share these techniques with the broader public. At the moment, we are finding big differences between the low temperatures of two brands of slow cookers, which makes it exceedingly hard to write accurate recipes.

Last but not least, Brussel sprouts are back in fashion – not that they were ever out with us. They are heaven blanched and tossed through EV olive oil or butter, or a mixture of both, with salt, pepper, lemon juice and freshly grated nutmeg. The smaller the better, and always cross-score the stem end because this helps them to cook evenly.

ROAST VEGETABLES

Good for carrots, young parsnips and turnips

EV olive oil, melted butter or ghee (go easy on the salt if using ghee)

Honey (molten in the microwave or on stovetop)

Maldon sea salt

Black pepper, freshly ground

Peeled (if they need it) and prepared vegetables

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200C. Put on a large pot of water, add a generous amount of salt and bring it to the boil. In the meantime, put a little honey and butter in a stainless-steel bowl and sit it over the pot. When the water comes to the boil, blanche the vegetables for about three minutes or until the tip of a butter knife will go into them for about 2mm without resistance. Drain and add to the butter and honey, season well with salt and pepper, and toss over. Cover a lipped baking sheet with a silicone mat or baking paper, and slide the vegetables onto it.

Cook for 30 minutes, turn over and cook for another 30 minutes (longer if they are not cooked). They should be nicely caramelised. Pick up the mat/paper and slide them onto a warmed serving plate, then serve.

Roast potatoes can be done in the same way but if you can manage the last 30 minutes at 220C they will have more crunch.

PARMESAN CRUMBLE

This vacs well, or can be keep for about two weeks in an airtight container. It is very handy to have in the fridge

300g/600g strong flour

200g/400g finely grated parmesan pecorino

Black pepper, freshly ground

Handful of herbs, stalked and roughly chopped

150g/300g salted butter

Method

Put the flour, cheese and pepper in a food processor, mix on pulse and with the motor running and add the butter down the feed tube. Use as required.

Pre-heat oven to 175C, Scatter some of the fine crumbs over the vegetables and cover the top with big lumps made by firmly pressing the mixture together. Cook until golden.

TIP: The parmesan pecorino cheese mix is available from most Continental stores. It is quite salty, so if you use salted butter there will be sufficient seasoning; if you are using unsalted butter, add a little sea salt.

USING UP THE ODDS AND SODS

Everyone ends up with odds and sods of vegetables left in the fridge, and this savoury crumble is a great way of serving them. Just remember when you are cooking the vegetables to put them in to cook in the proper progression – ie the veg that take the longest to cook should go in first. If you are adding peas or similar veg that will cook rapidly, add them when you have taken the vegetables off of the heat. The parmesan crumble can be made entirely in advance.

The vegetables can be blanched and put into béchamel, then covered with the crumble topping. Or sautée them with a little stock or cream, then cover with the crumble topping. Done with the béchamel and served with a green salad, this makes a very easy and tasty winter lunch.

PRIME STOCK

When we first wrote about this excellent product in 2007, it was quite difficult to find. It is great to see that a really good product has now found wide distribution.

Compared to making your own stock, it is expensive, but when you’re time-poor this is the only solution. The other advantage is that it is in a Tetra Pak and requires no refrigeration (or thawing). Moredough Kitchens’ chicken, veal, beef and vegetable stocks are 100 per cent natural, gluten and preservative-free, and cost around $7 for 500ml.

The stock is available in Adelaide from Ecotel Restaurant Essentials, 45 Gilbert Street, Adelaide or ph 8410 3633.