Depending on your needs, cooking a savoury mince mixture in a slow cooker can be quite convenient though the cooking time is not long at all. There's little chance of the mixture burning and the slow cooking allows the flavours to really develop.

Ingredients

• 1 kilogram lean lamb mince
• 1-2 onions, peeled and finely diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ¾ cup pine nuts, toasted
• ¾ cup pistachio nuts, optional
• 1 cup raisins or currants
• 2-3 teaspoons Moroccan or baharat spice mix (see recipe on our website)
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1-2 x 400-gram cans diced tomatoes in juice

Method

1. Turn the slow cooker on to low to pre-warm while gathering and preparing the ingredients.
2. Brown the mince and onion in a heavy-based frying-pan, breaking up the mince with the back of a spoon as it browns. This will be best done in batches.
3. Into the pre-warmed slow cooker put the mince, onion, garlic, pine nuts, pistachio nuts if using, raisins or currants, spice mix and coriander.
4. In a jug, stir together the flour and stock to make a smooth mix. Add the tomatoes and mix well.
5. Pour into the mince mixture and stir to mix evenly. Cover with the lid.
6. Cook on low for 3-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. Season with salt.
7. Serve the mince with couscous, rice or potatoes and your favourite vegetables, or alternatively use the mince to make a flashed-up shepherd's pie topped with mashed orange-flesh kumara, or make the Moroccan lamb filo pies.

Cooks Tips

- While 1 onion will be sufficient to add flavour, 2 medium-sized onions are better with this quantity of meat. Red onions are nice to use here. - Freeze any leftovers for a later meal. Variations: - Use beef in place of lamb. - Use Moroccan-flavoured tomatoes. - Add ¼ cup chopped fresh coriander at the end of cooking time. - Use almonds to replace the pine nuts or pistachio nuts.