Something for the weekend - saucy Butter beans with roasted Chicken

WHY WE THINK ITS FAB:

This is our kind of weekend cooking. Golden chicken, plump butter beans, smoky paprika and sun-dried tomatoes, all brought together with cream, Parmesan and wilted spinach. Rich, comforting and made for putting straight in the middle of the table with a loaf of crusty bread and something cold to drink.

INGREDIENT SPOTLIGHT:

There are some ingredients that simply earn their keep in the kitchen, and sun-dried tomatoes are right up there.

Unlike fresh tomatoes, these little wrinkled jewels have had much of their water removed, leaving behind an intensely concentrated tomato flavour that’s sweet, savoury, slightly tangy and wonderfully rich. A few roughly chopped through a dish can completely change its character, adding little bursts of deep Mediterranean sunshine.

We particularly love the ones packed in olive oil. They’re soft, sticky and almost jammy, and that glorious oil shouldn’t be overlooked either. Drizzle a little into pasta, whisk it into a dressing or use it to start off a pan of garlic and onions.

Saucy butter beans with sundried tomatoes and pancetta roasted chicken

Serves 2

Bring the whole pan to the table, tear open some crusty bread and get stuck in. This is Saturday-night comfort food at its best.

ingredients:

• 1 jar butter beans keeping every drop of their lovely bean stock

• 2 plump chicken breasts

• 2 tbsp good olive oil

• 3 fat garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 tbsp rich tomato purée

• 1 tsp dried oregano or your favourite Italian herbs

• 6 slices of prosciutto

• 2 tsp smoky paprika

• 8–10 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 100ml double cream, or crème fraîche for a little tang

• 30g Parmesan, finely grated, plus plenty more for the table

• 100g fresh spinach

• Splash of white wine

• A generous handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

• Lemon wedges for squeezing over, if you fancy

• Crusty bread or fluffy rice, for mopping up every last bit

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan. Season the chicken with a little black pepper, then wrap each breast snugly in 2–3 slices of prosciutto. You won’t need much salt as the prosciutto will take care of that.

Place in a roasting dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast until the prosciutto is beautifully crisp and the chicken is cooked through. For food safety, make sure the thickest part of the chicken reaches 75°C. Leave it to rest for a few minutes before slicing into thick, juicy pieces.

2. Get a decent sized pan on the stove. Add the garlic, tomato purée, smoked paprika and oregano with a small splash of white wine. Stir everything together and let it cook for 2–3 minutes, until the tomato purée turns darker, richer and a little sticky.

3. Tip in the butter beans, bean stock and all, followed by the sun-dried tomatoes. Give everything a good stir and let it gently bubble away for 5 minutes. The beans will soak up all those smoky, garlicky flavours while the sauce starts to become rich and glossy.

4. Pour in the cream or crème fraîche, then add the Parmesan and spinach. Stir gently and let everything get acquainted for another 2–3 minutes, just until the spinach has wilted and the sauce is creamy and coating those big butter beans beautifully. If it gets a little thick, loosen it with a splash of water. Now add the resting chicken ontop of the beans.

5. Taste. Season. Taste again. Finish with plenty of freshly cracked black pepper, a shower of parsley and another generous grating of Parmesan. A squeeze of lemon is lovely here too, cutting through all that creamy richness.

a note from lee:

This is absolutely a pan-on-the-table sort of supper. No fancy plating required. Just put it down, tear open some bread, pour something cold and let everyone help themselves.