Pure warming, hearty, comfort food – perfect for this time of year as the nights begin to draw in. Frying the chicken before roasting it helps to give it a nice crispy skin, and then cooking it in the sauce adds loads of lovely spicy, punchy flavour to the meat. I like to eat this with some simply cooked white rice and lots of crusty bread to mop up the delicious sauce. Easy to cook, nutritious, healthy, easy on the wallet and amazingly tasty – whats not to like!

Music I Cooked to:

Ingredients

• 2 red onions
• 2 medium sized carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 Chicken thighs (bone in)
• 3 Chicken legs
• Tin butter beans
• 200g smoked ham (cubed or chopped) – ideally for authenticity use Panceta Adobado (Spanish pancetta). You could use normal pancetta… if you do, it would be good to marinade it in red wine vinegar, smoked paprika and garlic for a couple of hours beforehand. Link to Spanish Panceta HERE. Waitrose do an easy version HERE.
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp Sun Dried Tomato paste
• 2 tbsp chilli powder
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• Handful chopped parsley
• Handful peas (fresh or frozen)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 100ml Chicken stock
• 100ml Balsamic vinegar
• 250ml red wine (spanish for extra authenticity)
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar or honey

Preparation Method:

1. Finely dice and chop the onions, chilli, and garlic.
2. Very finely slice the carrots
3. Heat a frying pan with a tbsp of vegetable oil. At the same time pre-heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.
4. Fry the chicken pieces until they are nicely browned all over.
5. Season the chicken with salt and pepper – cover with foil and set aside
6. In the same pan fry the onion over a medium-high heat until they begin to brown.
7. Add the carrots and fry for another 8 mins until the carrot begins to soften. Add a splash of red wine vinegar.
8. Add the garlic and chilli and continue to fry for a further 5 mins.
9. Add the red wine, balsamic vinegar and chicken stock. Turn down to a medium heat and cook for 5 mins
10. Add the tomato puree, sun dried tomato paste, smoked paprika, chilli powder and stir in. Continue to reduce. You should end up with a thick sauce like consistency.
11. Drain the butter beans and add to the sauce
12. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce.
13. Add the sugar. Simmer the whole mixture for a further 5 mins.
14. Take the base mixture off the hob, cover with foil and place in the oven for around 30mins.
15. After 25mins quickly fry the smoked ham in some oil for around 2mins
16. After 30mins remove from the oven, take off the foil. Baste the chicken with the sauce, add the smoked ham to the pan and place back in the oven for another 10-15 mins until the chicken skin is nicely browned and crispy.
17. For the last few minutes of cooking time place the peas into the pan
18. Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the parsley
19. To serve prepare some white rice, spoon the rice into a bowl and then place a piece of chicken meat with a generous helping of the rich, delicious sauce on top.