Tomato and Green Bean Chicken Braise

There’s nothing like showcasing your favourite home-grown produce, and this simple braise does exactly that. Featuring the simple flavours of your organic tomatoes and fresh green beans, this tomato and green bean chicken braise is easy to make with your freshly-picked produce and a few pantry staples.

There’s no point aiming for self-sufficiency if you don’t use your whole harvest. While it’s never a bad idea to preserve veggies for later, sometimes we want to showcase a fantastic fresh harvest too. This week, I picked huge amounts of green beans and tomatoes. I blanched and froze several bags of beans, then made & froze many litres of passata from my tomatoes. Two days later, my harvest basket was straining under the weight of yet more beans and more tomatoes, so I knew I had to devise a recipe that featured my harvest.

My old-school Italian foodie upbringing kicked in, and I concocted this saucy dish as a guilt-free weeknight ‘clean eat’. Gentle on the stomach yet packed full of flavour, this tasty green bean & tomato chicken braise uses your harvest and just a few basic ingredients, so it helps minimise your grocery bill too.

This version does take time to make because it includes a lot of fresh tomatoes. To save time and make it quicker, you could substitute bottled or pre-prepared passata, and use frozen beans.

Here’s How to Make It

Start by browning the boned chicken thighs in your deep frying pan- be sure to warm the oil first. While the chicken is browning, score the tomatoes deeply with a cross pattern and chop the onion. Pick the rosemary and chop it finely.

Slice the beans as you like, then remove the chicken from the pan. Leave the juices in the pan, then add the onion. Cook it gently for 5-10 minutes without browning it, then add the chopped rosemary and stir it through. Cook a further few minutes, until you can smell the rosemary.

Add the scored tomatoes to the pan, then a pinch of dried chilli- just a pinch!

Put the lid on and cook for around 45 minutes. Once the tomatoes have broken down and a sauce has developed, remove the tomato skins. Add water as and when required. Add the wine and chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, and simmer a further 15 minutes. Stir continually so it doesn’t catch, and make sure there is enough sauce with which to cook the risoni. Add the risoni to the pan, squeeze the lemon over it then mix through. Put the lid back on and cook a further 3-4minutes until the risoni softens.