Chicken thighs are inexpensive, tasty and perfect for the slow cooker. M&S have reasonably priced, high welfare slow reared chicken (I dread to think how other chickens are reared before they end up on the shelves!).
I get the thighs with the bones in and keep them in through the cooking process to get the additional health benefits released from the bones. I was listening to the Microbiome Medics podcast The Role of Diet in Managing Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Dr Sheena Fraser was talking about the benefits of bone broth, the additional protein, vitamins, minerals, and collagen that is good for the gut. I also added a carton on chicken bone broth to the recipe.
Fibre Points – depends on what and how many veggies and herbs you add.
1 pack of chicken thighs
1 carton Freya Chicken Broth
1 Onion
4 cloves of garlic
4 carrots
2 large potatoes
Thyme
Basil
Juice of 1 lemon and lemon zest
Olive Oil
Instructions:
Chop the potatoes, carrots, onion (or whatever veg you are using) into cubes, heat some oil in a pan or skillet and start to caramelise the veg (you don’t need to do this step, you can drop it straight in the slow-cooker, but it does bring out the flavours.
While that is going, in a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, zest, thyme and basil with a pinch of salt. Heat another skillet or pan, dip the chicken thighs in the bowl and sear the chicken for 3-4 mins on each side, start skin down until the chicken browns. You can add the rest of the oil and lemon here if there is any left.
Place the chicken, veg, stock, and chopped garlic into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours – the longer you cook the chicken the more nutrition gets released from the bones.
Then, it’s ready to eat. I served min on a slice or rye sourdough with steamed green beans and peas.
