Slow-cooker chicken, apricot and chickpea tagine

Break out the slow cooker and you'll be feasting on the mouth-watering combination of chicken and apricots! Perfect for a weekend get-together.

Equipment

• 5.5-litre slow cooker

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 8 small skinless chicken thigh cutlets
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1 large brown onion, halved, thickly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 410g can apricot halves
• 400g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
• 150g green beans, trimmed, halved
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
• 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pistachio kernels, toasted, roughly chopped
• Couscous, to serve

Energy 2637kJ	Fat saturated 3.80g
Fat Total 21.40g	Carbohydrate sugars g
Carbohydrate Total 66.70g	Dietary Fibre 10.10g
Protein 37.70g	Cholesterol 95.00mg
Sodium 669.00mg

All nutrition values are per serve.

1. Step 1

   Heat 1/2 the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Toss chicken in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Cook chicken, in batches, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer to slow cooker.

2. Step 2

   Heat remaining oil in same pan. Cook onion, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, cumin, ground coriander and turmeric. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add cinnamon stick and stock. Season with pepper. Bring to the boil.

3. Step 3

   Drain apricots, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Add chickpeas and reserved juice to slow cooker. Refrigerate apricot halves until required. Pour onion mixture over chicken mixture in slow cooker. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW for 6 hours (or HIGH for 3 hours). Add beans and reserved apricot halves. Cook on HIGH for a further 30 minutes.

4. Step 4

   Sprinkle tagine with coriander leaves, chilli and pistachio. Serve with couscous (see notes).

Always check the slow cooker’s manufacturer’s instructions before cooking. Discard the cinnamon stick before serving.