My grandma’s delicious stews and soups are my all-time favorite, especially when I visit her on rainy days. Her dishes just warmed me up. I also want to learn her recipes, but I usually have lots of things to do, so I prefer quick and easy recipes. Fortunately, Nana was able to modify her recipes to make slow-cooked oven stews and soups, which are more convenient than traditional cooking methods. This way, I can even multitask while the food is cooking!
Tips for making Slow Cooked Oven Stews and Soup
Since I really love my grandma’s delightful food, I let her share some of her tricks for making slow-cooked oven stews and soups hearty and delicious. This way, I can cook her delicious soups for myself when I can’t visit her.
Add Ingredients to the Slow Cooked Oven Stews and Soup
When making a hearty slow-cooked oven stew, my Nana instructed me to know the proper order of when to add the various ingredients. Most of them should go into the pot at the start of cooking, but you should add some ingredients towards the end. This is especially important for those components that will not withstand prolonged heat and need only a brief spell on the stovetop before serving.
Root vegetables such as potatoes, squash, and other hardy crops, along with lean meats, should be added to your dish at the earliest possible stage of the cooking process to ensure that they are cooked thoroughly. This will help to ensure that these ingredients are tender and flavorful when you serve them.
On the contrary, vegetables that are more delicate in texture, such as peas, spinach, and corn, require minimal cooking time. So, you can add them to a slow-cooked dish during the last few minutes of preparation. You can also add other types of meats such as chicken breast, fish, and seafood during this time.
Cut Ingredients to Similar Size
For a hearty soup, Nana recommends for the slow-cooked soups and stews ingredients to be cut into uniform, similarly-sized pieces. This will ensure that they all cook evenly in the same amount of time. Cutting the vegetables to a similar size also allows them to meld together more easily, creating a harmonious blend of flavors. Additionally, it makes the dish easier to eat as all components are bite-size and easy to manage with one spoon or forkful!
Use the Right Amount of Liquid
Slow cooking traps the moisture of the ingredients adding more water to the dish during the cooking time. So, when preparing soups, it’s important to carefully measure the amount of liquid used, as adding too much water can easily cause them to overflow.
Be sure to leave a gap of three-quarters to one inch between the soup and the top edge of whatever cookware you are using. This space will provide adequate room for the soup to avoid spilling over, thus avoiding any mess or waste. Furthermore, leaving a generous amount of space between the soup and the top edge helps to guarantee that your food will be cooked evenly throughout.
Place the Ingredients Properly in the Pot
When slow-cooking soups and stews, Nana said I could just put all the ingredients and leave them until their cooked. But she also emphasizes the proper placement of ingredients for optimal results. She said I should put the longer-cooking ingredients, such as meat and root vegetables, at the bottom of the pot. This way, they will be able to cook thoroughly and properly because they are expose to an even amount of heat from the oven. Additionally, having these items on the bottom layer allows for shorter-cooking ingredients like leafy greens or legumes to sit on top without becoming overcooked.
Know the Right Cooking Time for the Slow Cooked Oven Stews and Soups
Another essential thing to consider when slow-cooking stews or soups is the cooking duration for the required ingredients. Typically, if you’re making a stew with lean meat, it’s best to cook it for 6 to 10 hours to obtain maximum tenderness. On the other hand, when it comes to vegetarian recipes, the cooking time is usually less – typically 3 to 5 hours depending on the type of vegetables used.
Best Slow-Cooked Oven Stews and Soups Recipes
I’m really delighted that my Nana shared her delicious slow-cooked oven recipes with me, so I can also share them with you. She meticulously adjusted and tailored these delightful dishes for the slow cooking method, ensuring that they retained all of their flavor and goodness.
Meatball and Sweet Potato Soup
As a child, I just loved the combination of meatballs with mushy potatoes. This is one of my Nana’s unique slow-cooked oven recipes that she would prepare for us on special occasions. The juicy, flavorful meatballs combined with the creamy mashed potatoes created an undeniably mouthwatering dish that I still crave today! You can easily do this by mixing all the ingredients in one pot and cooking it for 6 to 7 hours. You can wash your clothes first, clean the house and come back for your hearty soup.
Slow Cooked Peasant Stew
This hearty, slow-cooked Peasant Stew is another comforting recipe of my Nana that will fill your stomach and warm your soul. Prepared with simple, wholesome ingredients such as potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and herbs simmered in a rich tomato-based broth – it’s truly classic comfort food. This slow-cooked dish takes time to prepare, but the result is an incredibly flavorful stew you can enjoy any day of the week. The combination of vegetables creates a scrumptious medley of tastes and smells that will tantalize your taste buds. Serve this delicious peasant stew with some crusty bread for dipping into the thick sauce, and you’ll have an unforgettable dining experience!
Beef Barley Soup
I also don’t forget the delicious and hearty slow-cooked Beef Barley Soup that my grandma cooked for our dinner last Sunday. This flavorful soup is made with tender chunks of beef, chewy barley, vegetables, and herbs simmered in a rich broth. It’s the perfect meal for cold winter days when you need something to warm your soul. The combination of beef and barley makes this soup both nutritious and satisfying. Aromatic vegetables such as carrots, celery, and onions bring out the flavor of the beef while adding nutrition to the mix. You can also use fresh herbs like parsley or thyme to enhance their taste and give them an unmistakable aroma.
