Chicken, Chorizo & Butter Bean Stew

Ingredients

• 900 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
• 2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 200 ml chicken stock
• crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 280 g jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250 g cooking chorizo, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 2 bay leaves
• fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the chorizo slices and fry for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until they release their deep reddish-orange oil and start to crisp at the edges. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the chorizo fat in the pan.
2. Turn the heat to high. Season the chicken chunks with salt and pepper and sear in the chorizo fat in batches for 3 minutes per side until golden — you're building flavour, not cooking through. Remove and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions to the pan and cook in all that savoury fat for 7–8 minutes until soft and just beginning to caramelise. Stir in the garlic and both paprikas and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Return the chorizo to the pan along with the red lentils. Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, sliced roasted peppers, and bay leaves. Stir well and bring to a steady simmer, scraping up any stuck bits from the base.
5. Nestle the seared chicken back into the sauce. Cover the pan and cook on a low simmer for 25 minutes, stirring two or three times so nothing catches on the bottom, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened around it.
6. Add the butter beans and sherry vinegar. Stir gently so the beans don't break up. Cook uncovered for a further 8 minutes until the beans are warmed through and the sauce has reduced to something rich and clinging.
7. Remove the bay leaves, taste for seasoning — you might want a touch more vinegar for brightness — then stir through most of the parsley.