This week’s Food Matters Project recipe was Roast Potatoes and Chicken with Romesco, picked by Mireya, who is making me miss Spain with her beautiful photos! I spent a semester there in 2007 and it is quite an incredible place.
Fittingly, she picked a recipe with Spanish influences. I modified this oven-baked chicken because we’re having another scorching weekend here in DC. I used the slow cooker to do most of the work so we wouldn’t bake ourselves and finished it off with a quick blast under the broiler to brown the whole thing, but you can find the original recipe on Mireya’s post.
I also used sweet potatoes in place of regular potatoes and deconstructed the romesco so the flavors of the pepper and tomatoes would be cooked into the dish. See all the other bloggers’ takes on it here!
Slow-cooker sweet potatoes and chicken
3 sweet potatoes, peeled
1 green pepper
1 hot pepper (optional)
1 14-oz can whole tomatoes
1 cup cherry tomatoes
splash of red wine
2 chicken breasts1. Cut the sweet potatoes into circles about an inch thick, then cut each one in half. Chop up the pepper and mince the hot pepper, if you’re using it. Chop up the canned tomatoes into chunks. Add them all to the slow cooker with the cherry tomatoes, chicken breasts, and wine, topping it off with some salt and pepper. Set it to cook for 4 hours on high or for 8 hours on low, and then leave it alone. (See below.)
2. After your cooking cycle is done, stir everything and cut into the chicken to check for doneness. Pour everything into a glass baking dish and put it under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to brown it a bit on top. Make sure not to broil it too long or it will dry out.
Fledgling tip: If you haven’t used a slow cooker before, it is imperative that you resist the urge to remove the cover to smell it or look at it while it cooks. The slow cooker works because it seals in the heat. Lifting the lid over and over could add hours to your cooking time. If you live with roommates, put a note on it that says do not touch!
i like the idea of substituting sweet potatoes. Sounds like an easy, no-fuss yummy meal!
Thanks, Elaine! I love sweet potatoes too.
Sounds great, perfect for these summer days.
Thanks, Lexi! Saturday my boyfriend put a pizza in the oven and it was unbearably hot for the rest of the night, so he was happy I used the slow cooker yesterday.
love the idea of using your slow cooker instead of turning the oven on! very smart! i also like your use of sweet potatoes.
p.s. thanks for the don’t open the slow cooker tip. i will remember that!
I’ve definitely had my hand smacked as I reached for the lid, so I was well trained!
That is seriously the trick to using a slow-cooker but oh so hard to do!
I know, because it always smells so good, you just want to waft it in!
Looks great, Meg. Good idea about the slow cooker–I was roasting in my kitchen even though the oven wasn’t on too long for my veggies. I didn’t know that about not lifiting the lid of the slow cooker…I’ve never had one myself but I can now picture myself having ruined dozens of meals at other people’s homes with my curious nose…uh-oh!
Too funny! It definitely happens, and it’s not the end of the world. If anything, you probably just made a few extra minutes for appetizers and socializing!
It’s more of an issue when you’re making something that takes a long time to cook through, like a whole chicken. I’ve just had it impressed in my mind from years of sneaking a glimpse in my mom’s kitchen and getting my hand smacked!
Oh sweet potatoes sound awesome with this sauce!
I am definitely going to make the sauce again by itself! I bet it would be fantastic with sweet potatoes. Hopefully the heat will break soon and I can actually roast them!
Great use of the slow-cooker, I tend to forget to use it during the summer! Where did go in Spain? I studied abroad in Sevilla in 2004, loved it and miss it a ton!
I studied in Sevilla too! But in 2007. I absolutely loved it there, and I miss the food (and wine) all the time. Every Sunday the woman who ran our residencia made us a big pan of paella and it was the best cure for a night of partying! Were you there for a full year or a semester?
I was just there for a summer- so about 2 1/2 months and lived in a home. Great memories- my senora introduced me to paella, tuna (used to not eat it before), gazpacho and the spanish tortilla. Definitely will have to go back, wish my trip abroad was longer!
Ah yes, I remember tuna being a staple there. My roommates thought it was gross that I would eat gazpacho when we came in at 5 a.m. after a night out, but I loved it. I have been thinking of going back, too! It’s an incredible city. Was it super hot there during the summer? We left in May and it was already pretty hot.
I’m gonna try this tomorrow but using chicken thighs instead of breasts. I have never been able to not overcook chicken breasts in the crockpot, any tricks?
Hmm, that’s interesting. The key with the slow cooker is to make sure it’s between half and three-quarters full. Anything under half will cook too fast, but over three-quarters won’t cook through. The other thing I’d recommend is adding vegetables and/or broth so the liquid and steam keep the chicken moist (it also brings up the level toward that halfway mark).
Chicken thighs are a fantastic option, too!
Great idea using the slow cooker. I am going to make this over the weekend.
Thanks, Gracie! Let me know how it works out.