Chicken in Red Pepper Sauce

Here chicken and a red pepper are gently braised in stock and white wine or orange juice. The cooking juices are then puréed to make a stunningly vibrant sauce. It's especially good served with tagliatelle, tossed in a little butter.

Serves 2

1 small onion, chopped, or 30 ml/2 tbsp frozen diced onion
100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup very hot (not boiling) chicken stock
1 large red (bell) pepper or 150 g/5 oz frozen red and yellow pepper slices
1 garlic clove, crushed, or 2.5 ml/½ tsp garlic purée (paste)
60 ml/4 tbsp dry white wine, orange juice or extra chicken stock
200 g/7 oz/small can of chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 skinless chicken breast fillets


  1. Put the onion in the ceramic cooking pot. Pour the stock over, cover with the lid and switch on the slow cooker to Auto. Leave to warm for 3-4 minutes while measuring and preparing the remaining ingredients.
  2. If using a fresh pepper, halve, seed and roughly chop it. Stir the fresh or frozen pepper into the onion mixture with the garlic, wine or orange juice or extra stock, the tomatoes and salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf, then place the chicken breasts on top.
  3. Cover with the lid and cook on Auto for 3-4 hours or on Low for 4-5 hours until the chicken and vegetables are cooked though and tender.
  4. Remove the chicken breasts from the pot. Discard the bay leaf, then purée the sauce in a food processor or with a handheld blender until smooth. Put one of the chicken breasts in a bowl or freezer container with half the sauce and leave to cool. Serve the remainder at once with tagliatelle or boiled or steamed rice.


Second serving
Either cover the cooled chicken and chill in the fridge for the following day, or freeze for up to a month. If frozen, allow to defrost in the fridge overnight. To serve, heat gently in a saucepan, bubbling for a few minutes to ensure that the chicken is piping hot.


Cook's tip
Frozen pepper slices are usually a mixture of red, yellow and green peppers. For this recipe use just the red and yellow ones.