Slow cooker chicken with lemon and olives

Slow cooker chicken with lemon and olives: Enjoy this zesty Moroccan-style chicken with couscous, rice or flatbread – just keep an eye out for olive stones!

Ingredients

• 500g/1lb 2oz potatoes, halved then cut into 5cm/2in chunks
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 whole chicken legs, each slashed four times on the skin side
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 unwaxed lemon
• 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp ras el hanout spice mix
• 400ml/14fl oz good quality chicken stock (or a mix of white wine and stock)
• 85g/3oz stone-in green olives in extra virgin olive oil (drained weight)
• 2 tsp clear honey
• handful fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Greek-style yogurt, to serve

Method for Slow cooker chicken with lemon and olives

1. Place the potatoes and onions into a slow cooker and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Season the chicken generously. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan then fry the chicken until golden-brown all over, about five minutes each side. Put the chicken on top of the vegetables.

2. Meanwhile, finely grate the zest of the lemon, cut four thin slices of lemon, then squeeze the juice from the rest of the fruit. Add the zest, garlic and ras el hanout to the chicken fat and juices, fry for a one minute till fragrant, then pour in the lemon juice and stock. Bring to the boil, then pour over the chicken. Top with the lemon slices, olives and one tablespoon olive oil from their jar, then cover with the lid and cook on low for six hours, until the chicken is very tender.

3. To serve, drizzle with the honey. Roughly chop the parsley leaves and scatter over the chicken. Serve with dollops of creamy yoghurt.

Slow cooker chicken with lemon and olives