Recipe - Chicken, sausage and bean stew for one (or many)
Share it if you want to.
In my most recent episode (and the first one in MONTHS), I talk about how I’m no longer living by myself — I tend to spend quite a lot of time at my partner’s house. And also, cozzie livs has meant renting out all bedrooms in my own house, so I’m pretty much always surrounded. Does that make me a fraud for running this podcast? Possibly.
However, in spite of this, I’m still cooking alone most of the time. After all, my partner, my housemates and I still lead separate lives, we are all independent adults and we aren’t obliged to eat together. So I’m still pootling around in the kitchen on my Larry. However, recently, I haven’t been working as much as the others and so the things that I cook are still for my own pleasure, but I do tend to make more food than I would ever need, just incase someone can’t be bothered to cook after work. The cooking that I do these days is cooking for one but maybe, also, for many. Dishes that work really well for this purpose are one pot meals, like risotto, tagines, soups and stews. They are easily heat up-able, work great for leftovers for one but are also shareable.
Here is a recipe for a chicken, sausage and bean stew. Also, in light of oncoming Spring, stews are not just for winter, they should be here for the whole year.
Time: 20 minutes prep, 2-3 hours stewing time
*Please note - if you are really short on time, it IS possible to rush this through. I don’t recommend it, but I do understand not everyone has hours to cook. You can stew for just 1 hour at a medium heat, which means everything will be cooked and edible but definitely cook for at least 2 hours for maximum flavour.
Makes: 4-5 portions
Plant Based Options: Instead of chicken and sausage, use mushrooms!
Faff Level: 4 (no skill required, but it takes a bit of time)
Ingredients:
4 pieces of chicken (on the bone, with skin ideally. Use legs, thighs for best result) OR 2 punnets of mushrooms for veggie option
1 whole chorizo or salami/pack of 6 sausages depending on what you fancy, cut into coins. Leave out if vegetarian, obvs.
4 pieces of celery, cubed
5 carrots, cubed
2 small white onions (can also use 1 white onion and a bunch of spring onions)
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
2 punnets of tomatoes
Big pinch of oregano, 3 bay leaves, season to taste
1 litre boiling water
1 stock cube (whatever you feel like)
1 cup brown/wild rice
1 tin of mixed beans
Directions:
Heat up a knob of butter in a large heavy bottomed pan (something Le Creuset adjacent would be good) and brown chicken and sausages. Once sealed, remove from the pan with tongs and put to the side. (Skip this step if using mushrooms).
Cube celery, carrots and onions and fry for 10(ish) minutes in more butter and oil from meat.
Crush garlic and add in with herbs, fry for a few minutes.
Add punnets of tomatoes, unchopped and cook until skin starts to burst.
Add chicken, stock cube and 1 litre of boiling water. Bring to the boil and immediately turn down to simmer on a low-medium heat.
Put the lid on the pan and let simmer for 2-3 hours, adding more water if the stew starts to look a bit dry.
When you’re about an hour away add in rice, beans and, if you are using them, mushrooms and sausages.
Serve hot or leave it on the stove for your housemates to pick at when they’re home.