Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore (Maximum Flavour)

Stephen at Not Another Cooking Show cooks this as an oven braise, searing floured boneless skinless thighs in a Dutch oven, building a sauce of mushrooms, peppers, onion, garlic, kale, tomato paste, white wine and passata, then finishing it at 425F for around 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 40 minutes. It translates cleanly to the slow cooker. The searing and sauce build stay on the hob to lock in colour and Maillard flavour, then everything goes into the slow cooker for a hands off braise. He serves it alongside Kenji Lopez-Alt's crispy roast potatoes and crusty bread.

Ingredients

• boneless skinless chicken thighs, seasoned all over, dredged in flour
• plain flour, for dredging the chicken
• olive oil, for searing

• mushrooms, stems removed, quartered (or halved if small)
• 1bell pepper, pith removed, cut into short strips
• 1onion, thinly sliced around the curve
• garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• kale, torn off the rib, washed

• fresh thyme, tied with the rosemary in a bundle
• fresh rosemary, tied with the thyme in a bundle
• 1bay leaf, whole

• 1 tbspchopped Calabrian chilli peppers
• 0.5 jarcherry peppers in oil, with some of the packing juices
• 1.5 tbspcapers

• 2 tbsptomato paste
• dry white wine, for the deglaze
• 1 jartomato passata
• 1 jarwater, used to rinse the passata jar
• dried oregano, pinch

• Parmesan cheese, grated (add late)
• fresh parsley, chopped (add late)

• crusty bread (add late)

Method

1. Stem and quarter the mushrooms, keeping smaller ones whole or halved. Cut the top off the bell pepper, shave off the white pith and slice into short strips. Trim, peel and thinly slice the onion. Thinly slice the garlic. Tie the thyme and rosemary into a small bundle with kitchen string.

   ~10 min

2. Build the flavour bomb in a small bowl: stir together the chopped Calabrian chilli, half a jar of cherry peppers with some of their oil and juices, and the capers.

   ~2 min

3. Tear the kale off its ribs into bite sized pieces and soak in cold water to wash. Drain when ready to use.

   ~3 min

4. Season the chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour. A mesh strainer with a few tablespoons of flour in it makes light work of dusting.

   ~5 min

5. Heat a large frying pan or casserole on medium high. Add a glug of olive oil and sear the thighs a few at a time, a few minutes per side, until golden brown. Don't crowd the pan and don't push the heat so high that the flour burns. Transfer each batch to a bowl.

   ~12 min

6. Tip the mushrooms into the hot pan with a pinch of salt. They will drink up the oil, so add a little more if needed. Cook hot and fast until they smell roasty, a few minutes.

   ~5 min

7. Add the sliced garlic with a touch more oil if dry. Once aromatic, add the onion and bell pepper, season with salt and cook until they begin to soften.

   ~6 min

8. Stir in the flavour bomb mixture. After half a minute, add the kale a handful at a time with a pinch of salt and let it wilt down.

   ~3 min

9. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes until you see caramelisation building on the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with the white wine, scraping up the fond with a flat spoon.

   ~4 min

10. Tip the pan contents into the slow cooker. Add the herb bundle, the bay leaf, the passata, then refill the empty passata jar with water and add that too. Season with salt and stir.

    ~3 min

11. Nestle the seared chicken thighs into the sauce along with any resting juices, and add a pinch of dried oregano.

    ~2 min

12. Cover and slow cook on Low for 5 hours, or on High for 3 hours, until the chicken is just barely holding together and shreds with a fork.

    ~300 min

13. Lift out and discard the herb bundle and bay leaf. Taste the sauce and adjust salt. Serve in a bowl with plenty of the sauce, scatter over Parmesan and parsley, and put crusty bread alongside.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked