Chicken & Chorizo Cassoulet
It was a night like any other in the Bilby household. Having finished a day's work, I was less than enthusiastic about whipping up a meal, but wanted to eat something that made me happy. What a dilemma. I'm the kind of person who keeps a lot of beans, lentils and rice products in their store cupboard thank goodness, and it's on nights like this that I end up reaching for them. This recipe is a result of grabbing things randomly out of the fridge and drawers. I'm never quite sure what to do with spring greens, but as they arrive regularly in our fruit & veg box I have learned that they can also be quite handy for meals like this one. I was so happy with the result that I decided to share.
Chicken & Chorizo Cassoulet
Cassoulet from a different angle - you get the picture
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 120g chorizo ring, thickly sliced
- 350g chicken breast fillets, skin on
- 400g tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
- 300ml chicken stock
- 500g spring greens, roughly chopped
- Salt & Pepper to season
Method
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy based frying pan. Add the garlic, onion and chorizo and fry for 5 minutes until the chorizo starts to brown.
- Season the chicken fillets and place skin side down in the pan, browning for 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Add the borlotti beans to the onion, garlic and chorizo and stir.
- Pour in the chicken stock and add the chicken fillets to sit on top of the vegetables, chorizo and beans.
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced to a saucy consistency.
- During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, add the chopped spring greens, cover and allow to wilt on top of the chicken until done.
- Stir the greens into the bean mix before serving.
Bilby Boost
- If you don't have spring greens, just use fresh spinach leaves or regular white cabbage.
- The same goes for borlotti beans - the French use haricot traditionally for cassoulet, but use whatever bean you prefer.
- This served 2 people - the chicken breast fillets can be as large or small as you like, but remember to cook them through. Sounds obvious, but we've all had an uncooked chicken moment!
- I served this with steamed brocolli, but of course this is up to you. It was quite nice though.