Rich, creamy and utterly divine, my new slow cooker pasta recipe will be a crowd pleaser!!
Who knew you could cook dried pasta in the slow cooker? Well you do now and not only does it save on washing up, the pasta tastes even better as it soaks up all the lovely flavours of the dish!
This slow cooker recipe is stunning and really easy to throw together, however like with all cooking techniques if you're new to cooking pasta in the slow cooker then I advise quickly watching my YouTube video attached where I will talk you through the technique and what to look out for 😊
Prep time 15 mins
Cooking time 4-5hrs
450g beef shin steaks, or diced braising steak
Salt & pepper
2tbsp olive oil
Beef stock, I used 400ml
1 onion, diced
250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
1bsp garlic puree or 4 crushed garlic cloves
1tbsp smoked paprika
1tbsp tomato puree
1tbsp dijon mustard
220g dried short pasta, such as rigatoni
200ml creme fraiche
4tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Season the beef all over generously with salt and pepper.
Heat a frying pan on high and add the olive oil.
Once hot add the beef in and quickly seal on all sides, then add the the slowcooker.
Now add the stock to the slow cooker use enough stock to ensure the beef is just covered, the amount you need will depend on the size of your slow cooker and chunks of beef. Don't worry as the mushrooms cook they will release more liquid to.
Next add the rest of the ingredients except the pasta, creme fraiche and parsley to your slow cooker. Stir to make sure everything is well combined, ensuring the beef is still submerged.
Pop the lid on, cook on high for 4hours (or on low for 6) until everything is cooked through and the beef is falling apart.
Use two forks to shred the beef.
Add the dried pasta and top up the liquid with hot water, the liquid should just cover the pasta, I used around 250ml. (Check my YouTube video for visual reference) Cover and cook on high for 45mins, stirring half way through and check the pan isn't too dry, and 150ml of hot water if it is. Alternatively you can just add ready cooked pasta to the dish and save a little time but I like to cook the pasta in the sauce so it soaks up all the flavours! 😋
Once your pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has gone(cook with the lid off for a while if there's too much liquid left) add the creme fraiche and fresh parsley. Give it all a stir and have a taste, you will probably need a lot more salt and pepper after adding the creme fraiche, just add it in little by little, stirring after each addition and then have a taste continue until you have the desired amount of seasoning to suit you!
Dish up, sprinkle with a little more parsley a crack of pepper and enjoy!
