Unfortunately there’s been a distinct lack of blogging action of late and way too many nasty germs floating around at Chez Foti. Viruses, bugs and colds a plenty but I’m keeping everything crossed the family’s all better by the end of the weekend. Even Dotty the pup was rushed to the emergency vets with a life threatening tick bite. Yes really!. Without the hefty injection and drugs he gave her she wouldn’t have made it much more than another 12 hours apparently. Luckily I myself have managed to escape the worst of all this sickness, bar the usual night nurse sleep deprivation and requirement to watch round the clock CBeebies anyway.
This was our first stew of the winter. A gloriously warming, boldly flavoured and slightly sticky stew of Chicken, Pumpkin and Borlotti Beans. The ingredients are loosely based on a Leon recipe I made a few times last year, but I’ve chopped and changed everything around quite a bit from the original here. The kids both loved it, and as Jacques’s going through a particularly fussy stage these days I was delighted that he devoured his bowl. Flavoured with plenty of rosemary, red wine vinegar, a little chilli, garlic and honey, what’s not to like?
My official wee taste tester, move over Ratatouille!
I used my homegrown borlotti for the first time in the stew and was very happy with the results. Whilst the yield from the plants was more than a little disappointing the small harvest I have will allow for three or four more hearty family meals over the winter. I think I’m going to give them another whirl next year, even for the gorgeous pods alone:
My ever-so-pretty Borlotti Beans, when fresh the pods look like the beautiful one on the right, when dried out and ready to pick like the one on the left
Try to marinade the chicken the night before, or at least a few hours, to boost the wonderful flavours. I served it for the kids with mash as they love their mash, and for us with couscous. The latter being a little hit and miss with the littlies these days and thus unworthy of the rejection risk!.
If you don’t have any flavoursome pumpkin it can happily be substituted with a tasty squash.
I’m entering this blog to November’s Lavender and Lovage‘s Herbs on Saturday recipe challenge, this month hosted by Jen at Blue Kitchen Bakes.
Chicken, Pumpkin & Borlotti Stew
Toddlers & Young Children, Bigger Kids, Family Dinners, Just Grown Ups
Serves 4
For the Marinade:
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
a tablespoon of honey
a tablespoon of olive oil
a heaped tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
a fresh red chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced (less for kids or those adverse, if they don’t like a little heat)
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a generous pinch of black pepper
4 free range chicken thighs, skin removed
For the Stew:
a large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
500g of flavoursome pumpkin or squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into chunks
400g can of chopped tomatoes
400g can of borlotti beans, drained, or 125g of soaked and pre-cooked dried beans
500ml of chicken stock
Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and combine, then thoroughly rub into the chicken thighs. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
Once marinated remove the chicken from the bowl and set aside the lovely marinade which you’ll use later. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large casserole or heavy based pan. Fry the chicken until golden on all sides, remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onion to the same pan. Fry for 5 minutes before adding the carrots and pumpkin. Continue to cook for a further 5 minutes before throwing in the rest of the marinade, chicken thighs, chopped tomatoes, borlotti beans and stock.
Give everything a good stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and allow to slowly simmer for an hour. Et voila, one big pot of healthy loveliness!. Taste and season to suit and serve.
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Chez Foti 
November 30th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
This looks lovely Louise, just the thing for colder weather. Keen to try it. Glad to see your squash are still going strong – and the borlotti pods are so beautiful aren’t they. I have varying levels of success with them too, find that they like pretty rubbish soil for more pods and less green growth. But they also like sun, which wasn’t so good here this summer. Agree worth growing for their looks alone though!
December 3rd, 2012 at 11:32 am
Thanks Andrea, it certainly is the perfect winter warmer supper. Really looking forward to trying the Borlotti again, and fingers crossed I might have a better harvest this time round. Lovely to have something to tuck into over the winter!
November 30th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
Yum, this looks so delicious!
November 30th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
What a great winter warmer! I must say I am super impressed by your kids getting stuck in. I am sad to say my two seem incredibly fussy in comparison and I do struggle getting them to eat new things. My daughter has a thing about not eating foods that are not entirely separated on the plate! I often despair…it seems so unfair to be so into food and have my kids reject most of it. Any words of wisdom? x
December 3rd, 2012 at 11:38 am
Ha ha, believe me my kids are really fussy and awkward too, which drives me totally insane at times! I do however find adding sweetness to savoury foods makes them more appealing, like the honey in this stew or fruit in a tagine or mild curry. My daughter is the most unfoody child I’ve met, totally disinterested in almost anything besides brie, camembert, sausages or saucisson! Though she’ll eat nearly anything with a fair degree of blackmail (or reward chart points) these days. Jacques used to eat anything and everything but is getting really difficult now, copying the antics of his big sister I think! So no words of wisdom really, sorry!
November 30th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
This looks absolutely divine! Perfect for the winter. Thanks for sharing Louisa! 🙂
December 3rd, 2012 at 11:39 am
Thanks Anne, it is the perfect winter warmer stew.
November 30th, 2012 at 11:27 pm
This looks so good, the kind of stew I know my family would love. Look forward to giving it a try. Glad to hear you’re all on the mend over there…
December 3rd, 2012 at 11:41 am
Thanks Vanesther, let me know if you try it. Certainly a popular stew with my lot, mainly because of the honey sweet and stickiness I think!.
December 2nd, 2012 at 4:49 pm
This looks like a lovely warming winter stew. There seems to be a lot of illness going around at the moment, I know I’ve been suffering a lot. Glad to hear your feeling better though and thanks for entering Herbs on Saturday.
December 3rd, 2012 at 11:42 am
Thanks Jen, it certainly is the month for illness round here with so many families struck down! Here’s hoping for a healthier December 🙂
December 3rd, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Love a hearty stew. That little taste tester of yours is pretty cute 🙂
Thanks for the stew recipe, just what I was surfing around for, thanks.
December 3rd, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Thank you! Hope you enjoy the stew 🙂
December 4th, 2012 at 8:24 pm
You can’t beat a good stew, especially when the germs are lurking. This looks and sounds delicious and how pretty are the fresh bean pods!
December 4th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Thanks Sian, the beans and pods are so gorgeous aren’t they. Definitely worth growing for a bit of pink on the plot alone!.
March 21st, 2013 at 8:13 pm
[…] that’s a tough question! One of my favourite recipes that I turn to time and time again is my Chicken, Pumpkin & Borlotti Stew using all veggies and beans from the garden. It represents what Chez Foti is all about, fresh, […]