Cooking on Heatwave

Cooking with the Tefal Multi-Cooker

When we have ample solar power and can run the 240V inverter I take advantage and experiment with recipes for the multi-cooker.  Slow cooking curries and rice are easy, as long as you don’t want the rice with the curry – there’s only one pot!  Checking out the “Dessert” setting I tried our favourite old recipe:  Ian Parmenter’s Consuming Passions Banana Bread, which worked perfectly.  You simply make up the batter, pour into the pot and cook on “Dessert” which cooks for 40 minutes then switches to “Keep Warm”.  I then reset the cooker to “Dessert” and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Take the pot out and stand to cool a few minutes, then invert onto cooling rack.  It becomes an upside-down cake, but tastes the same.  You could add icing or dust with icing sugar, which I didn’t have.  For a friend’s birthday I made a variation using dates and pecans because we had no bananas.  It cooked in the same time and was very tasty too.

When I made a batch of pizza dough I kept a portion to try and make foccaccia in the multi-cooker.  For this I used the “Dessert” setting, which is the highest temperature, and cooked it for 20 minutes, then quickly turned it over and cooked a further 10 minutes until browned on both sides.  This worked well and we ate foccaccia with our mushrooms and eggs for brekky, then heated foccaccia with salami, cheese and tomato in the sandwich press for a hot lunch.

Carrot and Zucchini Slice for Tefal Multi-Cooker

0:35 Prep • 0:35 Cook • 6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

1 medium carrot, peeled, grated

2 medium zucchini, grated

1 medium brown onion, finely chopped

¼ red capsicum, finely chopped

100g sliced leg ham, finely chopped, or bacon pieces

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup grated pizza cheese

1 cup self-raising flour

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves or spinach

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup rice bran oil

Mixed salad, to serve

METHOD

Combine carrot, zucchini, onion, capsicum, ham, garlic, cheese, flour and parsley

in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in egg, milk and oil. 

Spread mixture into greased pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes on Grains setting. Remove pan to cool.  Cut into wedges.  Serve warm or cold with mixed salad.

Variation: For a spicy slice, add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper with the parsley.

Banana Cake a la Consuming Passions

2 ripe bananas, mashed

180g brown sugar    or  ~   ¾ cup
180g SR flour           or ~  1 ½  cups
2 eggs
50 mL milk
50 mL macadamia nut oil
100g grated pecan nuts
100 grated bitter chocolate 

Combine bananas and sugar and mash well together.

Beat eggs with milk and oil.  Stir into banana mixture.
Stir in flour, nuts and chocolate. Mix well.

Pour into Tefal tin and bake for 45-50 minutes on Dessert setting.
Remove tin to cool.  Turn out and cut into slices.

Leftover potential:  Keeps for two or three days in the refrigerator, or freeze slices.

Healthy Oat Cake adapted for Tefal Multi-cooker

Serves: 12
Time to make: 45 mins, prep 10 mins, cook 30-35 mins on Dessert setting.

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped apricots

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup skim milk

1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Combine flour, oats and sugar. Add apricots, dates and pecans, mix to coat fruit well.

Stir in oil, milk and beaten egg. Mix well.

Press mixture into Tefal pan.

Cook for 35 minutes on Dessert setting or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove pan to cool.  Turn out and cut into squares.

Frittata for Tefal:  

We often cook frittata the day before we are going to sail a long day.  It keeps well in the fridge for 4 days.

½ Kumara, sliced thinly                        ¼  cup smoked salmon, chopped

½  onion, finely chopped                     ¼  red capsicum, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed                         1 cup grated cheese

1 zucchini, grated                                 ¼ cup feta, chopped

1 carrot, grated                                    ¼  cup grated parmesan

¼  cup skim milk                                    1  cup SR flour

¼  cup Rice Bran oil                              4 eggs

 

Mix carrot, zucchini, capsicum, onion, garlic and salmon in bowl. Stir in grated cheese, parmesan and feta.  Stir in chives or parsley for added colour.

Stir in flour.  Whisk eggs, milk and oil then pour into bowl and mix well. 

Grease base of pan and lay slices of kumara on base, then pour in mixture.

Cook on Oatmeal setting in Tefal for 30 minutes.  Remove bowl, allow to cool.

Cut into squares and store in the fridge.

 

Variation with powdered eggs:

Make up equivalent of 6 eggs (9 tablespoons to 250 mL water)