Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine

While searching around for some new dishes to try for dinner last week I came across the recipe below for a slow cooker chicken tagine.

Tagine is a slow-cooked Moroccan dish typically consisting of stewed meat and vegetables. It’s actually named after the pot that it’s usually cooked in, which is made of a heavy clay.

It sounded easy enough and the majority of the ingredients were things we all liked. We’d never had it before and we were up for something new anyway, and I especially liked that it cooks in the slow cooker; the house smelled amazing all day!

Chicken thighs, which are a bit more flavorful, can be used in place of the chicken breasts, and carrots and more onions can be added as well. I was a little wary of the eggplant (my husband hates it), dried cranberries and dried apricots, but the dish definitely wouldn’t have been the same without them, and my husband said this was the first time he liked eggplant in a meal. So there you go!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup water
1 cup couscous

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken pieces and eggplant in the heated oil; stir and cook until the chicken is browned on all sides but not cooked through. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Place the browned chicken and eggplant on the bottom of a slow cooker. Layer the onion, dried cranberries, and apricots over the chicken.

Whisk together the chicken broth, tomato paste, lemon juice, flour, garlic salt, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and ground black pepper in a bowl. Pour the broth mixture into the slow cooker with the chicken and vegetables. Cook on High setting for 5 hours, or on Low setting for 8 hours.

Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Stir in couscous, and remove from heat. Cover, and let stand about 5 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Serve tagine over couscous.

[image: wikipedia]