Chicken Thighs with Black-Eyed Pea Ragout
(from America’s Test Kitchen, Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution)
Couple of notes first: I have used both bone-in and boneless chicken thighs and boneless breast meat depending on what I had on hand, and they all work well. So, pick your preferred chicken. With boneless breast meat, I tend to chop it raw and add to the cooker, rather than cooking whole breasts, making this dish more like a stew than a meat with side.
Beans: I always start with dried beans that I pressure cook (thank you instapot). Canned beans are always fine, I just like to buy in bulk from the co-op and control the salt in my beans. I have a rant about Goya, and why I no longer buy any of their products – happy to share if you are interested.
Ingredients
1 lb kale, stemmed and chopped coarse (I generally just use one big bunch, whatever that weighs)
1 onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon neutral cooking oil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 2t fresh thyme; I have been known to use 2t dried thyme, as it’s a flavor I love)
4 cups cooked black-eyed peas (or 2 15oz cans, rinsed)
½ cup chicken broth
8 6oz bone-in chicken thighs (I use about 2lbs boneless skinless chicken breast)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons hot sauce (I LOVE a smokey hot sauce with this dish, and generally serve it with more hot sauce to taste)
Steps
- Microwave kale, onion, garlic, oil, mustard, and thyme in a covered bowl, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened, about 5-7 minutes. Trans to slow cooker.
- Process 1 and ⅓ cups of beans with broth in food processor until smooth and pourable. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Stir remaining beans into slow cooker.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Nestle whole thighs/breasts; stir in cut up breasts, depending on what you are using. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 3-4 hours on low.
- Remove whole thighs/breasts if using. Stir in hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
