Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine With Butternut Squash
- Total Time
- 4½ to 6½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1medium-small (2 to 2½ pound) butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 3-inch-by-1-inch wedges
- 8pitted dates, such as Medjool, halved
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1(1-inch) cinnamon stick
- 2teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1½teaspoons turmeric
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- ½teaspoon hot smoked paprika
- ½teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2tablespoons canola oil
- 3½ to 4pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 8 thighs)
- 1large red onion, finely chopped
- ¼cup minced ginger (from about a 4-inch piece peeled ginger)
- 6large garlic cloves, chopped
- ¼cup lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon), plus more to taste
- Leaves of 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 4scallions, thinly sliced
- Cooked couscous or pita for serving (optional)
- Plain yogurt, for topping (optional)
- Toasted almonds, for topping (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
822 calories; 48 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 25 grams sugars; 47 grams protein; 1109 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put the squash and dates into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Season generously with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon stick, sweet paprika, turmeric, cumin, hot smoked paprika, ground ginger, cloves and cayenne and set aside.
- Step 2
Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken dry and season it generously with salt. Working in two batches, put the chicken in the skillet skin side down and cook without moving it until the skin is deeply golden, crisp, and releases fairly easily from the bottom of the pan, about 5 to 8 minutes per batch. (You need to brown only the skin side.) Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, nestling the thighs skin side up and in one crowded layer on top of the squash.
- Step 3
Decrease the stovetop heat to medium. If there is a lot of rendered fat in the pan, pour off all but a thin layer to cover the entire bottom of the skillet. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the reserved spices and stir well for about 30 seconds, until the mixture is a uniform brick red. Add the lemon juice, stir well to incorporate the browned bits, then scrape the mixture over the top of the chicken, making sure to include any spice-stained oil that remains.
- Step 4
Cook on low until the squash and chicken are very tender and the flavors are mellow, at least 4 hours and up to 6 hours. If it’s more convenient, you can let the slow cooker switch to warm after 6 hours. The dish will hold on warm for another 2 hours before the chicken starts to dry out. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Add lemon juice and salt to taste and fold in the chopped parsley and scallions. Serve with couscous or pita, topped with yogurt and toasted almonds, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
Chicken without skin, yams instead of squash and raisins instead of dates. This is like reading an article recommending a river cruise in Prague, and commenting that you took a train to Budapest and it wasn't that great....
I converted to instant pot by adding a cup of chicken broth and cooking on high pressure for 40 minutes. It was delicious!
This is rich and excellent. Modified for conventional oven: Cooked in an enameled casserole. Browned the chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on), then removed and sauteed the onion, ginger, garlic, added the spices, spread the squash and dates over the mixture and arranged the thighs, skin up, on top. Added a cup of chicken broth, brought to a simmer, and then baked covered at a low heat (about 300 for several hours). At the end ran under the broiler to recrisp the chicken skin. Added lemon at the end
This recipe is also posted for a pressure cooker here at NYT. I just did stovetop cooking so the squash would not overcook. I liked the variety of spices but used fresh when it’s available: fresh ginger, turmeric, hot peppers and whole cumin seeds. Adjusted it all for our tastes and ingredients on hand (used very lean seasoned chicken sausage sliced in rounds as we didn’t have thigh meat), tripled broth as it would be cooking longer, mixed dates with raisins and put in lemon zest to keep the sweetness moderate. It did need more salt as the broth had none. Toppings were welcome for texture & contrast. We combined plain yogurt with scallions and grated cucumber, mixed almonds with pistachios for crunch, and fresh Italian parsley. It was even better the second time - had once with grain blend and the second with kasha. So good & worth the bother.
The flavors were good, but the squash was pretty much completely dissolved after 4 hours on low. I’m not sure if that’s what was supposed to happen
This recipe was flavorful and moist, but a little sweet for my taste. I used chicken tenders and it worked fine, but might have been a little better had I used thighs.