Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: Basque Chicken, Chorizo and Butterbean Casserole
We had some snow this weekend. Just a light dusting here at home in North Wexford. Enough though to get social media buzzing as half the country jumped up and down with delight at the idea of awaking to a snow-covered landscape, while the other half expressed dread at the idea of snow and ice on top of a coronavirus lockdown.
Personally, I was in the former camp, anything to break the Groundhog Day feel of these weeks where every day feels much like the last. That said, the weeks do fly by, don’t they? How is it the end of January already?
After all the buzz, we had a centimetre or two of snow that was largely gone by the time I ventured out with the dogs. It was a glorious day though, crisp and clear and bitterly cold. The perfect day for a long walk and then back to the house to settle in front of the fire. The perfect day too for another warming, comforting dinner.
This Basque-inspired chicken, chorizo and butterbean casserole hit the mark perfectly. It is also very healthy, though it can be made more indulgent if served with a generous dollop of creamy mashed potato. Mash made with smoked butter is perfect with this if you can get your hands on some. Use baked potatoes rather than boiled to make your mash and you will get a beautiful smooth finish. Bake your potatoes and then warm a little milk in a saucepan. Throw in some smoked butter, be generous with it, if you are going to indulge, do it properly. Scoop the flesh of the baked spuds into the pot, add some flaky sea slat and a good grind of black pepper and mash it well. If you have a balloon whisk, use that to whisk it a little until it is really smooth. It will only take two minutes and is very much worth the little effort required.
Today though we had this without the mash. Indulgence is more special if you do not do it every day. This dish is perfect if you are on a bit of a health kick. It has lots of protein and is relatively low in fat. I skin the drumsticks before using them. That is easy to do if you use a heavy knife to chop the end of the drumstick and then peel off the skin. I prefer brown meat instead of chicken breast in dishes such as this, they give much more flavour. You could also use skinless chicken thighs if you prefer, but I think chicken drumsticks prepared like this are perfect for a casserole, they hold their shape nicely throughout cooking.
This recipe makes at least six generous servings, more if you have it with mash. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days and freezes well too. It also tastes even better the day after you make it, so it is perfect for batch cooking.
- 1kg of chicken drumsticks
- 175g of chorizo
- 2 medium white onions
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 red peppers
- 300g of baby potatoes
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1 tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tin butterbeans
- 500 ml chicken stock
- Salt and ground black pepper
- A handful of flat-leaf parsley
Chop the end of the chicken drumsticks to give you tidy balls of meat. Remove the skin and discard it. This is our two greyhounds favourite moment; they somehow seem to know when a meaty treat is available and come right into the kitchen just in time to ensure it ends up in their dishes and not in the bin.
Slice the chorizo thinly. Cut the ends of the squash and remove the seeds. You do not need to peel the squash for this dish. The skin helps the squash keep its shape when cooking and adds some more fibre.
Heat a heavy-based pan or a casserole dish over a high heat. Get it good and hot and then toss in the sliced chorizo. You do not need any extra oil for this, as the chorizo browns it will give off plenty and it is full of flavour. Once the chorizo is nice and brown, add the chicken pieces and cook for 5-8 minutes, browning them all over. Next add the onion, roughly chopped, and the garlic cloves, crushed, along with the paprika.
Cook until the onions go translucent, just a few minutes. Now add the fresh chopped rosemary, the oregano and the squash. Stir it well to get everything coated in all that flavour and toss in the baby potatoes, cutting the larger ones in half.
Remove the seeds and stalks from the red peppers and cut them into roughly three-centimetre chunks. Add them to the pot, stir well and let it cook for another minute or two.
Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée and the chicken stock and a teaspoon of flaky sea salt. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer until the potatoes & squash are cooked. This will take about 30 minutes.
Now add the drained tin of butterbeans. If the sauce is a little thin, stir one tablespoon of cornflour into a little water and add that. Give the casserole a good stir. Let it cook for another few minutes to allow it to thicken slightly and cook out the taste of the cornflour.
Give it a final taste for seasoning, it may well need a final good grind of black pepper. Serve up in bowls with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and a generous handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.
