Moroccan Chicken Stew, Crock Pot

Annacia's Note:

Raisins, apricots, and a delicious blend of spices make this slow-cooker stew hard to resist. *NOTE*: I have now reduced the amount of tomato paste to 2 tbsp (originally 1/4 cup). Thanks Toni.

• Total Time: 6 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 lbs skinless chicken pieces
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dried apricot, coarsely chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ground black pepper
• hot cooked couscous (whole wheat preferred)
• pine nuts, toasted
• fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker place carrots and onions.
2. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Add to cooker; top chicken with raisins and apricots.
4. In bowl whisk broth, tomato paste, flour, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon and the ground black pepper.
5. Add to cooker.
6. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6-1/2 to 7 hours (or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4 hours).
7. Serve in bowls with couscous.
8. Sprinkle with nuts.
9. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.

Reviews

[justcallmetoni]

Throw Moroccan in the name of a recipe and I'll bite. And this time every morsel was delectable. I let mine cook for three hours on high and another three hours on low. If you have the option choose the longest possible cooking time as it allows for the fragrant sauce to develop - melting in the apricots and onions. I cut my carrots into sticks so that the would not become over cooked. Two small suggestions which make this simply sublime: I would cut the amount of tomato paste by 1 or 2 tablespoons, especially if you are using the shorter cooking times. At 4 hours, it still dominated the other flavors and only mellowed after additional cooking. My other change would be to change up the amount of dried fruit to 2/3 cup apricots and 1/3 cup raisins. The former do double duty as a component in the sauce as well as an item in the stew itself. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.

[ellie_]

Delicious! Wonderful and easy chicken stew which we all enjoyed! I used catsup instead of the tomato paste but otherwise followed as directed. Thanks for sharing!

[triplecrown73]

This was phenomenal! The aroma when I returned home from work made the mouth water. My family does not like cous cous so I served with rice. I had to refrain from licking the plate! Next time, I'll add another onion and some more carrots. The onions virtually carmelize. Thanks so much for posting - this is definitely a keeper!