Crock Pot Chicken and Saffron Rice

I got this recipe out of The New Slow Cooker: Comfort Classics Reinvented cookbook. I've hardly ever struck out with a Williams-Sonoma cookbook recipe, and I've made quite a few of their recipes over the past fourteen years or so.
I have about ten cookbooks of theirs and I go back to them over and over. I'm always looking for good crock pot recipes. Getting most of the dinner prep (and mess) done and cleaned up early in the afternoon, and at the same time filling the house with the savory smells of slow cooking meats, vegetables, and herbs, is something I'll take any day of the winter week.

photo from the cookbook, because my dished-up plates never look like this ;)

Ingredients:

Large pinch of saffron threads

1/2 C plus 3 TBS dry white wine

1 whole chicken, about 3 1/2 lbs cut into 8 pieces
(or you can buy the pieces separately)

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 TBS olive oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

3 bay leaves

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

4 C chicken stock, homemade or purchased

2 C long grain white rice

2 large jarred pimiento peppers, seeded and chopped


Soak saffron in the 3 tablespoons wine for 20 minutes. Oil the slow cooker insert. Pat the chicken dry and season generously all over with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. When oil is hot, working in batches to avoid crowding, add the chicken and sear, turning as needed, until golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Pour off most of the fat from the pan and return to medium-high heat. Add the onion and bay leaves and saute until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more. Add the oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, several grinds of pepper, the saffron mixture, and the remaining1/2 cup wine and stir to dislodge any browned bits on the pan bottom. Add the contents of the pan and the stock to the slow cooker and then stir in the rice. Nestle the chicken in the rice, cover, and cook on the low setting for 3 hours.

Uncover and check to be sure a little liquid is still visible at the bottom of the cooker. If it appears dry, add 1 tablespoon water. Sprinkle the chopped pimiento evenly over the rice, then re-cover and cook for 15 minutes more.

Spoon the chicken and rice onto a large warm platter or individual plates and top with Warm Asparagus Salad (below), if using. Serve at once.

I just used a bunch of organic drumsticks instead of a whole chicken. Made it easy to serve for kids.

 
Warm Asparagus Salad

Trim the rough stems from 1 pound asparagus, peel the lower 2 inches with a vegetable peeler, then cut the spears into 1 1/2 inch lengths. Bring the saucepan three-fourths full of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the asparagus pieces, 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, and 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed.
Drizzle with 1/3 - 1/2 cup Lemon Vinaigrette (below) to coat lightly and toss well. Serve at once.

Lemon Vinaigrette

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBS white wine vinegar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl whisk together the mustard, vinegar, lemon zest and juice, 1/2 tsp salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Whisk in the oil until emulsified.


(I didn't have any pimientos so I didn't put those in the chicken and rice. They probably would've given the dish more flavor, but it tasted just fine without them. Also I didn't do the parsley or the capers with the asparagus, just poured the lemon vinaigrette over them when they were done.) 

Even if you don't make anything else on this page,

make the lemon vinaigrette and pour it over 
your next asparagus side dish! 

You won't be sorry!