This sluggish cooker chicken and chorizo is totally stacked with flavor! It’s rich, good, and heavenly solace food that is ideal for a simple supper.
The extraordinary thing about a lethargic cooker formula is the reality you can simply flick it on and leave it to do its enchantment. In any case, in case I’m leaving something to concoct for to 8 hours it best be darn flavorsome when it comes out the opposite end. That is something I was aware of when chipping away at this formula.
Ingredients:
- 4 Skinless Chicken Thighs, boneless or bone-in
- 7oz / 200g Chorizo, diced into bite sized chunks
- 1 cup / 240ml Chicken Stock
- 1x 14oz/400g can of Chopped Tomatoes
- 1x 14oz/400g can of Butter Beans, drained (can sub Cannellini or other large bean)
- 1/2 – 1 cup of Mixed Olives
- 8 Sun Dried Tomatoes, halved
- 2 Peppers, cored & diced into large chunks
- 2 small Red Onions, peeled & quartered
- 3 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Honey (can sub sugar)
- 1 sprig of Fresh Rosemary
- 1 Bay Leaf
- splash of Vegetable Oil
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Chicken: Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Add a drizzle of oil to a pan over high heat and add chicken. Fry both sides until nice and golden then place into the slow cooker. No need to cook them right through, this step is just to render down the fat and build extra flavour in the crust.
- Fry Veg: Place pan back on high heat and add onions and peppers to the leftover fat. Fry for a couple of minutes until they begin to char, then add in garlic and fry for another 1-2mins longer. Scrape everything into the slow cooker.
- Slow Cooker: Into the slow cooker add in chorizo, beans, olives, sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, smoked paprika, cumin, honey, rosemary, bay leaf and a pinch of salt and pepper. Give it all a good mix then place on the lid and slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8hours.
- Serve: Take off the lid and keep on warm or low for 10-15mins, just to let the steam escape and allow the liquid to thicken/reduce slightly. Serve up and enjoy! (suggestions in notes below)
Notes:
- Serving Suggestions – I usually serve this as it is with some buttered bread on the side. It also works nicely with rice or mashed potato. The beans do bulk it out nicely though so you won’t need much of either. Another nice way to serve this is with some crumbled feta and or finely diced fresh parsley!
- Chicken – Chicken thigh works best here because it’s generally more flavoursome than thigh. You can also fry it on high heat to get a really nice crust without it drying through the centre. Bone in or out won’t make a huge difference, but just ensure you take the skin off. Slow cooker chicken skin doesn’t have an appealing texture (in my opinion!)
- Do I have to fry the chicken/onions/peppers beforehand? – If you’re short on time you can skip this, you’ll just miss out of a bit of bonus flavour from the caramelization in the pan. If you’re throwing the chicken straight in the slow cooker I recommend trimming any fat beforehand.
- Calories – assuming the whole thing is shared between 4 people using 2 tsp veg oil to fry, 3/4 cup olives and no sides/toppings.
