I came back from Dorking market today loaded with goodies some of which morphed into this dish which was so good I thought I’d share it with you. You’re welcome, dear reader ☺
There are a couple of magic ingredients which make this dish sing. I’m not fibbing; I’m not just on a “go local” mission; they really do make a difference to the finished dish.
The first is Sussex Smokers’ oak smoked chorizo (I include the link as a point of reference, the site is somewhat lacking at the mo). This is nothing like the orange red sausage you probably think of when you think chorizo. For starters, instead of being cured, it’s smoked (clue’s in the name) so the texture is more sausage like than the chewy meat you’ll be used to. The next massive difference is that it’s not full of paprika, hence the colour. Instead it’s full of red chilli and is much hotter than “normal” chorizo. I’d recommend a taste test first, it’s ready to eat straight from the pack, and that you adjust the amount you use according to how much heat you can handle.
The second magic ingredient is Just One More Thing, one of the brilliant spice blends from Redhill-based Little Spice. It’s full of smokey, peppery chilli flavours and the hint of cumin and fennel seeds really complement the chicken and sausage here. In addition to everything you see below you’ll also want some Pimentón picante (hot smoked Spanish paprika) and I added a courgette and a yellow pepper just to make it a bit more summery (and it means that the dish contains at least 3 of your 5 a day!)
Ingredients
2 free-range, preferably local, chicken supremes (mine came from the farmer’s market)
1/2 Sussex Smokers’ oak-smoked chorizo
1 onion
2 or 3 carrots
3 cloves garlic
Extra veg as desired
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin butterbeans
2 tsp Just One More Thing spice blend
1 tsp pimentón picante
Method
1. First up, season and brown your chicken in a teaspoon of olive oil. You can, of course, use whatever cut of chicken you like with this dish: Thighs or skinless and boneless breasts would work just as well, but don’t forget to adjust the cooking time accordingly (longer for thighs – you want the meat falling off the bone; shorter for breasts – you don’t want the meat to dry out). Remove the chicken from the pan once brown on both sides.
2. Next up, put your diced veg and garlic into the same pan – this is one of those dishes for which you should grab the big casserole out of the cupboard. I know small, uniform diced veg look like a total faff but they’re not, honest. Practice makes perfect – work on your knife skills and you’ll be dicing away with ease in no time! Sweat the veg off over a medium heat for 10 minutes or so.
3. Once your veg has softened, add the sausage (chopped to roughly the same size as the veg), the spice blend and the smoked paprika and give it a good stir to coat the veg and meat in the spices. Then add the tomatoes and butterbeans and, depending on your veg to tomato juice ratio, some chicken stock. You want it to be wet enough so that there’s enough juice for you to be able to bubble it down at the end so that it thickens and the flavours intensify. Bring to the boil for 2 or 3 minutes, then reduce to a gently bubbling simmer.
4. Last up, rest the chicken on top. Don’t push it down into the stew as you want the skin to stay as crispy as possible. Stick the lid on and leave it simmering for 25 minutes or so.
5. Once your chicken’s cooked, remove it from the casserole and leave it to rest while you bring the dish back up to boil and thicken the sauce to meet your own preference. Check the seasoning, I don’t think it’s a dish that needs black pepper but if you want to add some I won’t be all that cross.
6. Serve it in a gorgeous big bowl with some crusty bread and a chilled glass of Albariño for the authentic Spanish touch.
Stay chilled x
Surrey Hills Chills 