Slow Cooked Chicken Coconut Curry

The house will smell so good when you get home if this is in the slow cooker.

Toss the together into the slow cooker and cook 6-8 hours on low:

4-6 bone-in chicken thighs or 3 chicken legs (the marrow in the bone makes a tasty broth and is chock full of nutrients)*

6 shallots (or 1-2 onions)

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped

2-3 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

8 crimini (or other type of) mushrooms, stems removed and quartered

½ bunch of collards or kale, chopped small (or add spinach at the end)

2 stalks lemongrass, smash with handle of a knife and then chop into 1 inch pieces**

1 T ginger, peeled and minced

1 T curry paste, panang, red, yellow or whatever variety you like***kid-friendly

1 t salt

cover with water

after it has cooked and you are almost ready to eat, add:

½ cup coconut milk

spinach or chard, chopped, if you didn’t use collards or kale

splash of fish sauce in each bowl or 1 T in the whole batch

a squeeze of lime in each bowl or a whole lime in the whole batch

garnish with cilantro

optional: cook rice noodles and serve soup on top. if adding curry paste to individual bowls, add the curry and a little broth first, then the noodles, then the rest of the soup, coconut milk, lime and garnishes.

*ideally: cook the chicken first overnight in the slow cooker or for a couple hour in the morning to make a broth. You can pull the chicken out and skim it. Then add the rest of the ingredients and reduce cooking time to 4-6 hours.

**don’t eat the lemongrass chunks

***kid-friendly – if only some people in your family like spicy food, omit the curry paste and instead put 1 t curry + 1 T hot broth into each bowl, stir to combine, then add the rest of the soup. You can do the same with the coconut milk if you want, adding a little into each bowl and giving a stir.