Chicken, chorizo and bean stew
Simple flavours come together in a filling, family-friendly dish which is incredibly simple to prepare
5 mins
50 mins
399 kcals
serves 4
CHICKEN, CHORIZO AND BEAN STEW
This is one of my go-to easy, family-friendly dinner choices. It’s a very simple stew which can easily be souped up with additional ingredients.
Just the simple ingredients of chorizo, smoked paprika and garlic give it lovely, smoky flavour, which is subtle enough that it can please both kids and adults alike.
ABOUT CHORIZO
Chorizo is one of my favourite ingredients to have on hand. It lasts for a long time in the fridge, and it has such a lot of flavour that it can jazz-up many dishes in an instant.
I only use a small amount of chorizo in this- for me it works as I don’t want the chorizo to be a completely overpowering flavour, and as it is generally quite fatty it can quickly add extra calories.
If you are following Slimming World or are calorie counting, limiting the amount of chorizo keeps it low-syn and low calorie compared to similar dishes. That said, different brands of chorizo vary greatly in fat content. One that I found in Asda was 4.5 syns for 35g. On average 25g chorizo is 3.5 syns.
CAN I USE DIFFERENT BEANS
Use whichever beans you prefer! I like to mix up butterbeans and haricot beans in this version because I like the way the haricot beans bulk up the sauce inbetween the butterbeans. But you could use just butterbeans, or other white beans such as cannellini. Also borlotti beans, kidney beans, black beans and chickpeas all work well!
MORE CHICKEN?
I only use 4 chicken thigh fillets in this to feed 4, as I break it up at the end to disperse throughout the sauce, and I think this is enough because you also have the filling power of the beans, and the extra chorizo. Everyone has different preferences and you may wish to add more chicken, or swap the chicken thigh fillets for breast chunks. You could also swap out the chicken for pork (I have used thinly sliced pork tenderloin instead), or use sliced up sausages. Prawns also work well in this, but if you are using prawns then just add them in for the final 10 minutes of the cooking time.
WHAT ELSE CAN I ADD TO THIS DISH?
This meal is a real vehicle for adding lots of tasty extras! Vegetables, beans, spices… here are a few ideas:
- Fry in extra onion, shallots, fresh chilli (red, green, scotch bonnet, birdseye…) diced bacon any extra meat or sausage at the same time as the chicken and chorizo
- Add at the beginning, with the passata and stock: chopped tomatoes, halved baby tomatoes, diced peppers, diced sweet potato, diced butternut squash, mushrooms, sliced leeks.
- Add 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time: spinach, kale, spring greens, frozen peas, fine green beans, broccoli, cauliflower…
- Extra herbs and spices for flavour: chilli powder, chipotle chilli flakes/paste, harissa paste, dried mixed herbs, fresh herbs such as oregano, rosemary, basil, parsley, thyme…
WHAT CAN I SERVE THIS WITH?
Here are some serving suggestions:
- Brown or white rice
- cauliflower rice
- cous cous
- bulgar wheat
- toasted wholemeal pitta breads
- extra green vegetables
- mashed potatoes
- over a jacket potato
CHEESY CHORIZO ORZO
MEXICAN LIME AND CHICKEN RICE
Chicken, chorizo and butterbean stew
Ingredients
- spray oil
- 4 chicken thigh fillets excess fat trimmed away
- 1 red onion finely diced
- 50 g chorizo thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 can (400g) butterbeans drained
- 1 can (400g) haricot beans drained
- 400 g tomato passata
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 500 ml hot chicken stock
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- small handful parsley finely chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°c
- In a large, flameproof/oven-safe casserole dish, spray in a little oil, and add the chicken thigh fillets, chorizo and onion. Stir-fry for 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, stir it through, and then add the butterbeans and haricot beans, passata, chicken stock and smoked paprika. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and then place into the oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, stir, and break up the chicken thighs (either use a wooden spoon to break them roughly apart, or remove them to slice up on a chopping board and then add back in to the stew.
- Garnish with fresh parsely to serve. Serve on its own, with some salad or pitta bread, or with rice.
This is amazingly easy to make and tastes delicious.