Midweek meals: Five comfort food favourites for the family to cook in an hour or less

Some nourishing favourites to warm bellies this week

Comforting classics to make for dinner this week

Smoky Chicken & Chorizo

A comforting one-pot wonder for winter nights

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

• 100g dry-cured chorizo, diced

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 3 large garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 bay leaf

• 1½ tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)

• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp chopped fresh thyme

• ¼ to ½ tsp chilli flakes, depending on how spicy you like your food

• a pinch of saffron

• 200ml white wine

• 1 x 700g jar of tomato passata

• 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 80g black Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Trim off any excess skin from the chicken thighs and put a wide, shallow, heavy-based casserole dish over a medium-high heat without any oil. When the pan is nice and hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken thighs, skin side down, to render out the fat.

2. Cook for 5 minutes without moving them around, then flip them over and cook for 5 minutes on the other side too, until nicely browned. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

3. Add the chorizo and cook for 5 minutes, until it has released its oil into the pan and crisped up a bit. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to the plate with the chicken. Pour off all the oil that has been released from the chicken and chorizo, as there will be a lot of fat in the pan now, then add 1 or 2 tablespoons back in.

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

5. Add the onion, carrots and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, bay leaf, smoked paprika, oregano, rosemary, cumin, thyme, chilli flakes and saffron and cook for 1 or 2 minutes more, just until fragrant.

6. Pour in the wine and let it bubble up for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring to deglaze the pan, then stir in the passata and add the browned chicken thighs and chorizo back in. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the casserole dish and transfer to the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.

7. Near the end of the cooking time, stir in the cannellini beans and olives to warm them through.

8. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then scatter over the chopped parsley. Serve straight to the table.

 

Spaghetti with beans and tomatoes

recipe by:Darina Allen

For a quick, creamy dinner with bursts of garlic and basil flavour, try combining French beans, tomatoes and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 1kg tomatoes (plum or small beefsteak)

• 300g French beans, topped and tailed

• salt

• 150ml double cream

• 1 garlic clove, whole and peeled

• handful of basil leaves

• 400g spaghetti

• 50g grated Parmesan

Method

1. Skin the tomatoes, deseed with a teaspoon and chop them coarsely.

2. Cook the beans in plenty of salted boiling water for three minutes until they are just tender. Cool them quickly in a bowl of cold water and drain.

3. Bring the cream to the boil and add the garlic.

4. Take the pan off the heat and leave the cream to steep for  five minutes before removing the garlic.  Then add the beans, tomatoes and torn-up basil, and toss just for a minute to warm the veg through.

5. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente.

6. Drain and mix with the tomatoes and beans. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.