Slow cooked chicken and lentil casserole

Ingredients

For the marinade: 

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Juice and zest of ½ lemon
• Salt & pepper, to season

 

• 4 chicken breasts, cleaned and trimmed

 

For the casserole:

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 small red onions, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, diced
• 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, roughly chopped
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 500ml chicken stock
• 400g green (vert) lentils, drained and rinsed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Flat leaf parsley

Directions

1. Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl, and whisk.
2. Place the chicken into a Ziplock bag or bowl and pour the marinade over, combining well. For best results, leave overnight but 2 hours is fine. Drain 5 minutes before cooking whilst discarding the juices & marinade.
3. On a hob, heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in the cooking pot then add the onion, garlic, celery, and pepper. Sauté for five minutes on medium heat. Remove from cooking pot and set aside.
4. In the same cooking pot, add 2 chicken breasts and fry for 3 minutes. Turn and fry for a further 2 minutes or until chargrilled. Remove the chicken from the cooking pot and set aside, then cook the other 2 chicken breasts.
5. Deglaze the cooking pot with 100g of the chopped tomatoes. Mix well. This will distribute the lovely juices from the chicken.
6. Add the remaining tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to simmer. Season with salt & pepper. Cook for five minutes.
7. Add the vegetables, chicken and lentils. Transfer the cooking pot to the base unit. Cover with the glass lid, and cook on medium heat for 4 hours or until the chicken is completely cooked through.
8. Remove from heat and rest for 10 minutes.
9. Season, to taste, with freshly ground black pepper and salt.
10. Garnish with flat leaf parsley.

Tips

The cooking pot of the slow cooker can be used as a saucepan/frying pan to prep the vegetables and chicken. Be sure not to overcrowd the cooking pot when cooking the chicken. Cook in 2 batches to ensure that they are browned or chargrilled sufficiently on both sides.