Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever (17 page)

Robustly flavored with Niçoise olives, wine, and lemon, serving this chicken dish is a nice way to turn your dinner table into a Mediterranean bistro. Serve this dish with lots of crusty bread to soak up the flavorful sauce.

½ cup all-purpose flour

Salt (see savvy) and freshly ground black pepper

8 chicken thighs, skin and bones removed

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, sliced

¾ cup dry white wine or vermouth

1½ cup chicken broth

1 cup pitted Niçoise olives

1 lemon, cut into ½-inch-thick slices (see savvy)

1 bay leaf

combine the flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a large plastic bag. Add the chicken to the bag and shake to coat. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.

add the chicken and brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes.

transfer the browned chicken to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the garlic to the same skillet and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

add the wine and deglaze the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until the chicken is tender.

season with salt and pepper before serving.

serves 6

salt savvy

Since olives are naturally salty, I advise you to go easy on the salt until the dish is finished cooking, and then season.

lemon savvy

Most citrus and other fruits are waxed when they are shipped to your local market. Make sure that you remove any wax from the fruit that you add to your pot, or the wax will make your dish have an off-flavor. Scrubbing the fruit with a plastic wire brush before washing does the trick.

This chicken dish is one of my favorites. The chicken is infused with the flavor of Dijon mustard and surrounded with button mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and cippolini onions. Serve with steamed rice, or it’s equally delicious with crispy roasted potatoes.

3 to 4 pounds chicken parts (breasts, thighs, legs, or any combination), skin removed (see savvy)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces cippolini onions

1 pound button mushrooms, cut in half if large

One 16-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and quartered (see savvy)

½ cup dry white wine or vermouth

1½ cups chicken broth

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/
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cup Dijon mustard

1 bay leaf

sprinkle the chicken evenly with 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken a few pieces at a time and brown on all sides.

transfer the browned chicken to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the garlic and onions to the same skillet and sauté until the onions begin to color, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the liquid in the pan begins to evaporate, 3 to 4 minutes.

add the artichoke hearts to the pan and sauté for another 3 to 4 minutes, to color the artichoke hearts.

deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring up any browned bits from the bottom. Transfer the contents of the pan to the slowcooker insert. Put the broth and mustard in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

add the broth mixture to the slow-cooker insert and add the bay leaf, stirring to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until the chicken is tender.

season with salt and pepper before serving.

serves 8

chicken savvy

Removing the skin before slow cooking helps cut down on the fat in the dish and helps the chicken cook evenly. Use a pair of kitchen shears to cut through the skin, and then pull it off and discard.

artichoke-heart savvy

Fresh baby artichoke hearts work well in this braise, but they aren’t always available and can be pricey. If you can find them, trim the tough outer leaves, cut about ¾ inch off the top, and cut the artichokes in half before adding to the cooker. They may require a little more cooking time, around 15 to 30 minutes. If frozen artichoke hearts aren’t available, two 15-ounce cans of artichoke hearts will also work. I’d advise adding those 2 hours into the cooking time because they are quite soft and may disintegrate after the long cooking time.

A
tandoor
is a wood-fired clay oven that is used in India for cooking. Although a slow cooker will give you more of a tandoori stew than a traditional tandoori, it’s still delicious. The flavors of yogurt, Indian spices (see savvy), and chicken mingle to make this a great dish to serve with steamed rice. Don’t forget the traditional accompaniments of raita, a cooling cucumber-yogurt sauce, and naan or flat bread for dipping.

1½ cups plain yogurt

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

One 3 to 4 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces and skin removed

combine the yogurt, lemon juice, coriander, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, paprika, garlic, and ginger in a 1-gallon zipper-top plastic bag.

add the chicken in the bag and marinate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Put the chicken and the marinade in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

cover and cook on high for 4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through (170°F on an instant-read meat thermometer). remove the chicken from the pot and serve warm or at room temperature.

serves 6

tandoori savvy

If you prefer to buy a tandoori seasoning instead of making your own, there are several good ones on the market, which you can find at gourmet retailers or at
Penzey’s Spices
.

The word
tagine
refers not only to a dish but also to the vessel in which it is cooked. Originally from North Africa, cooking tagines have a flat dish that holds ingredients, and a conical lid with a vent. Tagines also can be made successfully in a slow cooker with excellent results. This tagine slowly simmers chicken thighs, dried apricots, and dried plums together to make a sweet and savory dish that is terrific with steamed rice or couscous.

8 chicken thighs, skin and bones removed

1½ teaspoons salt

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teaspoon cayenne

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ cup dried apricots, cut into quarters (see savvy)

½ cup dried plums (see savvy)

½ cup orange juice

Grated zest of one orange

1½ cups chicken broth

¼ cup water mixed with 2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 cups cooked couscous

sprinkle the chicken with the salt and cayenne. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken a few pieces at a time and brown on all sides.

transfer the browned chicken to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the onion, turmeric, garlic, cumin, ginger, and brown sugar to the skillet and sauté until the onion begin to soften, about 4 minutes.

transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert. Add the apricots, plums, orange juice, orange zest, and broth to the cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4½ to 5½ hours, until the chicken is tender and the fruit is plump.

stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.

serve the chicken, fruit, and sauce over a bed of the couscous.

serves 6

apricot savvy

To prevent the apricots from sticking to your knife while cutting, spray the knife with nonstick cooking spray.

plum savvy

Dried plums are really prunes. Marketers decided that prunes had gotten a bad rap so now they’re called dried plums!

Guinness stout is a favorite in the United Kingdom and is a delicious addition to your slowcooker dishes. This chicken is braised in Guinness, with added Asian flavors, and turns out as a delicious stew to serve over steamed rice or noodles.

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces, or 8 pieces of your favorite chicken parts, skin removed

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup soy sauce

2 cups baby carrots (see savvy)

One 12-ounce can Guinness stout

1 cup chicken broth

½ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced in half

2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with

¼ cup water

Chopped green onion for garnishing

sprinkle the chicken evenly with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and brown on all sides.

transfer the browned chicken to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the onions, ginger, and garlic to the skillet and sauté until the onions are softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the soy sauce and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.

transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert. Add the carrots, Guinness, broth, and mushrooms to the cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

remove the cover and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Cover and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes, until the stew is thickened and the chicken is tender.

serve the stew garnished with the green onions.

serves 6–8

carrot savvy

The baby carrots you see in bags in the supermarket aren’t really “baby” carrots at all! They are large carrots that have been put through a machine and turned into little nuggets of carrot.