Skinless, bone-in chicken thighs pick up tenderness and deep flavor in this pretty much effortless slow cooker recipe with French flavors. Fresh fennel bulbs, orange zest and juice, black olives, and whole-grain mustard simmer with the chicken, in a one-crock dish that needs only buttered noodles or rice pilaf.

  • Yield: 6 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 4 hrs 45 mins
  • Active: 15 mins

Ingredients (8)

  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
  • 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the chicken
  • 6 large skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
  • 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs (about 1 1/2 pounds), stalks and fronds removed, bulbs cut lengthwise into thin wedges
  • 1/3 cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata or niçoise olives
  • Buttered egg noodles or rice pilaf, for serving

Instructions

  1. In the crock of a slow cooker, whisk together the chicken broth, orange zest and juice, mustard, and measured salt. Sprinkle the chicken all over with additional salt and add it to the slow cooker along with the fennel. Scatter the olives over the chicken.
  2. Cover and cook on the low-heat setting for 4 1/2 hours. The chicken should be soft and cooked throughout, the fennel very tender.
  3. Spoon the chicken and fennel pieces and their juices over the buttered egg noodles or rice pilaf, arranged as a bed on a warmed serving platter, and serve right away.