Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce

One of my favorite kitchen tools is my slow cooker.  Cooking everything up in the morning before going to work and coming home to a delicious smelling kitchen and hot meal feels like such a gift, plus clean up is a snap.  You can add capers along with the olives, parsley, and seasoning for a more briny flavor, if you like. The parsley goes in last to keep its flavor and color intense.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs and about 1/3 cup sauce)

Ingredients

• 12  chicken thighs (about 4 pounds), skinned
• 1  teaspoon  kosher salt, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  minced garlic
• 1/4  cup  dry white wine
• 3  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 2  to 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1  (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4  cup  sliced pitted kalamata olives
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Place chicken in an electric slow cooker. Add garlic to pan, and sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 30 seconds. Place wine mixture in cooker. Add tomato paste, crushed red pepper, and tomatoes to cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, olives, and parsley.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

270

Fat:

12.9g (sat 3.3g,mono 5.6g,poly 2.8g)

Protein:

29.1g

Carbohydrate:

8.7g

Fiber:

2.2g

Cholesterol:

99mg

Iron:

2.4mg

Sodium:

658mg

Calcium:

44mg

Lia Huber, Cooking Light, MARCH 2009