Slow cooker campfire stew

SLOW COOKER CAMPFIRE STEW

There is a reason that this slow cooker campfire stew is an absolute Slimming World classic. Becasue of the rich, smoky flavours and tender, fall-apart ham, it makes a great one-pot family meal, and can provide leftovers for meals throughout the week.

When you don’t have much time on your hands for prep but want to cook something that feels a bit special, this is a great recipe. The reason for this is that it mainly uses storecupboard staples, the slow cooker gently cooks the ham into fall-apart tenderness, and the paprika turns the beans into smoky, cowboy-worthy yumminess! The other great thing about this is not only is it a great dinner, it’s also fab on top of a jacket potato the next day!

Don’t want to use bought baked beans?  Then try my version using cannellini beans instead: Bonfire Night stew!

If you are following Slimming World then the chances are that you will have heard people talking about this in group- this is because it’s a real syn-free one pot wonder! It’s easy to see why as it’s so easy to make, contains lots of goodness, and it filling and comforting!

WHAT DO I NEED FORE THIS SLOW-COOKER CAMPFIRE STEW

The simplest ingredients!

• A joint of gammon
• 2 tins baked beans
• 2 onions
• 2 peppers
• 4 cloves garlic
• 6 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

DO I REALLY NEED TO SOAK THE HAM FIRST?

Ham that hasn’t been soaked can be extremely salty, and therefore it can make this stew much too strong and salty. The best way to avoid this is to soak your gammon joint in a large bowl of cold water overnight. If you are a little short on time, then just soak it for at least 2 hours (and fully drain before adding it into the slow-cooker)

CAN I COOK THIS IN THE OVEN INSTEAD?

Yes! If you’d rather cook this in the oven to speed things up that’s absolutely fine.  I cook it for about 2.5 hours at 180c. After 2 hours, just check it and give it a stir, and you may want to add a little extra water at this point if it’s starting to look dry.

WHAT ELSE CAN I ADD TO MY CAMPFIRE STEW?

You can add extra favourite vegetables such as mushrooms, carrots, celery, leek, butternut squash or even throw in extra peppers! You could also stir in some spinach at the end of cooking.

When I’m cooking this for the kids too I will leave out the chilli and just drizzle a bit of chilli sauce on at the end. You can also always throw in some jalapenos if you want to give it a bit of a Tex-Mex twist! You can mix up the types of beans that you use, for example add 1 tin of baked beans and one tin of kidney beans or haricot beans.

WHAT CAN I SERVE THIS WITH?

• At it’s most simple, this is most delicious served with some fresh wholemeal bread (why not try this slow-cooker bread too?!)
• Spoon over jacket potatoes
• Mashed potato is a great addition
• Rice
• Chips
• Sweet potato fries
• Fresh green vegetables are a great side for this- broccoli, asparagus, green beans.