Listen: Justine Schofield shares the art of slow cooking with Sam Robinson on Hope Breakfast
By Sam RobinsonThursday 29 Apr 2021Hope BreakfastGuests and ArtistsReading Time: 2 minutes
The days are getting shorter, and the evenings are getting colder, which means it’s the perfect time to pull out your slow cooker to create some wintery treats.
Justine Schofield is one of Australia’s favourite cooks, having risen to fame in the first season of MasterChef Australia, and has since hosted more than 11 seasons of her afternoon cooking show on Network 10, Everyday Gourmet.
Well now, she’s released The Slow Cook, a book of 80 recipes that each lend themselves to a long, slow cook. Justine joined Sam on Hope Breakfast to explain why slow cooking is the reason why she fell in love with food.
“Memories and nostalgic feeling of going into a house and smelling that familiar smell, whether it’s a soup or a slow cooked dish my grandmother used to make,” Justine said.
“It takes me back to my youth, or reminds me of sharing a meal with family, and friends too… My mum and my Grandmother would make those slow cooked meats or fish dishes, or even vegetables cooked really slowly and gently, and the perfume of that would be in the house and linger for ages. I constantly cook these dishes purely for the memory, and the taste!”
The beauty of slow cooking is that you can buy cheaper cuts of meats and find them tender at the end of the day.
The beauty of slow cooking is that you can buy cheaper cuts of meats and find them tender at the end of the day. But if you’re someone who likes to simply drop the ingredients in the slow cooker and dash, Justine has some advice to create an even tastier dish.
“There’s a misconception with slow cookers – to throw it in, come home… [but it’s important] to get out the pan, seal everything off first, then put it in the slow cooker,” she said.
“The flavour is incomparable to just not doing that. Sealing off the vegetables and the meat is crucial, and will give you the best outcome.”
Hear more tips for slow cooking from Justine Schofield in the player above. The Slow Cook is available now.