Crockpot Chicken “Tagine”
Originating from North Africa, tagines are flavorful and diverse dishes. They are commonly served as a combination of chicken, beef or lamb, vegetables (or vegetables alone) that are infused with aromatic herbs and spices. For those that don’t have a tagine (a special two-piece stoneware pot with a cone-shaped lid), I was wondering if it would be possible to re-create a similar dish in the crockpot. My goal was to allow the slow-cooking process to produce the same wonderfully moist tastes and textures typically found with traditional tagine cooking. This is my version which I hope you will enjoy!
Yield: about 4 servings (with extra sauce)
Yield: about 4 servings (with extra sauce)
Ingredients
Bouquet Garni (see MPM Mini-Bites)
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 thyme sprigs
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 piece cheesecloth large enough to tie up spices in a package-about 12-inches square
- Kitchen string
Spice Rub
- 1 tablespoon dried cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried turmeric
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular
- 1 tablespoon dried coriander
- Pinch cayenne or as desired
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 bone-in chicken thighs with or without skin
- 1 large onion coarsely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 6 carrots peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (or 2 cups cubed butternut squash)
- 1 medium eggplant peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup dried dates
- 3/4 cup dried apricots halved
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup 100% pomegranate juice Like POM
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- Cayenne to taste optional
Instructions
- Lay all ingredients for the bouquet garni on cheesecloth. Roll up contents into a package; tie ends and middle with kitchen string.
- In a small bowl, combine all spice rub ingredients.
- Coat all sides of chicken with spices, rubbing in well.
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high setting. Sear chicken on both sides for about 1 minute until browned. Drain on paper towels.
- In same pan (you will have enough oil plus the fat from the drippings), sauté onions and garlic for 5 minutes or until browned, scraping up brown bits, incorporating any spices remaining in the pan.
- In a 6-quart crockpot, layer carrots, sweet potatoes or butternut squash, eggplant, dates, apricots and chickpeas.
- Top with onion-garlic mixture.
- Arrange chicken pieces on top of veggies. Lay bouquet garni on top of chicken.
- Add tomato paste, crushed and diced tomatoes, wine and pomegranate juice. Sprinkle with minced ginger. (and cayenne if desired)
- Cover and cook on High setting for 1 hour and Low setting for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken has reached 170 degrees F and vegetables are soft. (Can also cook on Low setting for about 7 hours.) Reduce heat to Keep Warm until serving time. As crockpots vary, adjust cooking time if needed.
- Remove bouquet garni. Taste; adjust seasonings as desired.
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage Tips: if desired, this dish may be completely cooked up to 2 days ahead of serving. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat in the crockpot on Low, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until hot. For faster reheating, transfer to a large casserole dish; cover. Heat at 325 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until hot. May be frozen for up to 4 months.
Serve your delicious “tagine” over jasmine rice or couscous. (I like brown rice or Israeli couscous which is also called “grande.”) For a low carb option, this dish would also be wonderful served over greens or even spaghetti squash.
Read more about the traditional method of cooking in a tagine here.
Read more about what a bouquet garni is here. If you don’t have cheesecloth, you can simply tie the ingredients together with string. However, rosemary leaves tend to fall off the stem and are not a pleasant addition to the sauce due to their tough texture.
Other ethnic slow cooker dishes you may enjoy are Crockpot Middle Eastern Meatballs and Crockpot Moroccan Beef Stew.
