All in good time (+recipes)

My tummy is rumbling. I've spent half the day travelling back from Invercargill, and am now strapped into a 19-seat plane approaching the runway with rain lashing the windows and lightning flashing in the distance.

To take my mind off things, I reflect on my day, which was spent demonstrating the principles of beef and lamb cookery. As the weather outside my plane indicates, winter's here, so we're all craving slow-cooked comfort foods - tender oxtail and lamb neck with gnocchi or pappardelle pasta.

But slow food isn't just about recipes that take a long time to cook; it's about taking the time to think about where food comes from, and appreciating quality.

What caught my eye on the flight home was an article on the origins of the slow-food movement - born in Rome in 1989 in protest at a McDonalds opening on the Spanish Steps. According to its website, Slow Food International is a "non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organisation that was founded to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people's dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world".

It has gained more than 100,000 members in 132 countries, who contribute to projects such as planting school gardens and teaching children to be self-sufficient.

Right now, though, I'm still hungry. So, once home safely, I dust off my striking blue cast-iron Dutch oven.

Slow cooking is all about having a main food item submerged in liquid and enclosed with a lid to allow little evaporation during cooking.

This is real recession cooking - using cheaper cuts of meat that can punch out loads of flavour. Cooking slowly means cooking at a much lower temperature, which means less shrinkage and a very tender result.

The key is what you decide to place in the liquid to contribute to the tenderisation process and boost the flavours. Rustic herbs - bay, rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon grass, kaffir lime and stems from soft herbs - are excellent, as are mushrooms and caramelised onion, which will infuse an earthy taste.

I have discovered a Middle Eastern skew in the slow cooker is a real winner - try dried apricots, dates, sultanas, pomegranate, smoked garlic and ginger beer.

An important tip - because of the toxin phytohaemagglutinin, raw pulses must be parboiled for 10 minutes before adding to the cooker or Dutch oven. And when you're shopping for the meat, look for joints. Nothing tastes better than meat straight off the bone or cuts from the worked area of the animal. Skate wings, monkfish, osso buco and pork cheek make great alternatives.

Easy peasy. Turn your dinner on in the morning at 115C and by the time you arrive home that evening, it will be just about ready.

Orange and cardamom lamb shanks
Osso buco