Slow Cooker Fruity Chicken Tagine: The Perfect Fall Recipe
Slow Cooker Chronicles
September 28, 2011 at 10:37 am
by Heather Eng
The Family Circle Healthy Family Dinners cookbook came out earlier this month, and in honor of its release, I decided to try one of the slow cooker recipes featured in it.
The Fruity Chicken Tagine caught my eye. I’m a fan of Moroccan food and the recipe looked simple and healthy. Plus, my boyfriend, Collin, and I were cooking on a weekend afternoon and wanted a dish that would finish in a few hours; the tagine only required 2 1/2 on high (5 hours on low).
The prep work was super-simple. Collin broke down the chicken thighs (the recipe called for boneless, but the store only had bone-in) and I chopped and mixed the other ingredients. Then we threw everything into the pot and let it cook.
We were both really pleased with the finished dish. It was rich and flavorful, sweet and savory. As Collin noted, the fruitiness and hints of cinnamon were perfect accompaniments to the crisp, cool fall weather outside. And the next day, the reheated leftovers were just as tasty.
Slow Cooker Fruity Chicken Tagine (from Family Circle)
Makes: 4 servings
Prep: 10 mins
Slow Cook: 5 hrs (low) or 2.5 hours (high)
Ingredients
1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup raisins
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups cooked couscous
Directions
1. Place chicken, onions, apricots and raisins in slow cooker bowl.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, tomato paste, lemon juice, flour, cumin, ginger, cinnamon and black pepper. Pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2-1/2 hours or LOW for 5 hours.
3. Serve over cooked couscous.
While savoring the chicken tagine, I thought it would make a nice vegetarian dish. A few days later, I attempted a variation of the recipe. I substituted a 15 oz. can of chickpeas, 1 pound of sweet potatoes, cubed, and 1 pound of baby potatoes, cubed, for the chicken. To diminish the sweetness, I omitted the raisins and used fewer apricots. (Ok, it wasn’t quite vegetarian because I still used the chicken broth I had leftover.) When the dish had about 15 minutes left to cook, I stirred in a handful of chopped cilantro and parsley.
The verdict: It was good, but I used too many sweet potatoes. They made the dish a little too sweet to be a main course. I ate it as a side to a roasted portobello sandwich, but think it would be great over a piece of broiled white fish simply dressed with lemon and chili pepper. (Which I will try soon–the leftovers are stacked in my freezer!)
What are your favorite fall slow cooker recipes? Share them below. I (or one of the other slow cooker newbies) may try it next time.
Your Slow Cooker Questions, Answered 
Heather’s First Slow Cooking Attempt: Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna with Squash and Zucchini 
Meet the Slow Cooker Newbies! 
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