Tuscan Chicken with Pinto Beans

Now that we are back to almost-normal working schedules, coming up with home-cooked meals for the family has become quite a challenge.  When I get tired of making the usual Asian rice-based dishes, I often opt for easy-to-prepare Western-style one-dish meals.  One of my favourite go-to recipes is aromatic Tuscan Chicken. In addition to being easy to prepare, it also keeps well. Prepare this dish ahead of time and store it in the fridge, and it’ll still taste amazing after a few days, as the flavours continue to absorb and mature.

To make this Tuscan Chicken even more robust and nutritious, I love adding in pinto beans for their creamy texture and delicious earthy flavour.  High-quality canned beans, especially those sourced from the United States, are easily available in supermarkets and grocery stores, and I always have a couple of cans ready in my larder.  Besides being an added source of protein, pinto beans are rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals.  They are also rich in antioxidants so necessary for good health!

This Tuscan Chicken is convenient as an individual meal or shared with others.  It is also very versatile as it pairs deliciously with any bread, pasta, or even rice.  With the holidays coming up, this colourful dish will look quite impressive on your dinner table!

Here’s my recipe for Tuscan Chicken with Pinto Beans:

TUSCAN CHICKEN

Ingredients:

2 whole chicken thighs

400 g canned U.S. pinto beans

300 g canned diced tomatoes

4 slices bacon, cut up

1 big onion

4-5 pips garlic

10 cherry tomatoes

A few sprigs rosemary

150 g baby spinach

Salt, black pepper for seasoning

2-3 tbsp cooking oil

300 ml water/stock

Method:

1. Cut a few slits on chicken thighs and marinate with some salt and black pepper. Keep aside for at least 2 hours. The slits improve marination and cook-through of the thighs.
2. Heat up a cast-iron skillet and fry the bacon for a few minutes till the fat is rendered.  Add in sliced garlic and onions and continue frying for 3-4 minutes.  Remove from skillet, while leaving the remaining bacon oil.
3. Add some cooking oil to the skillet and pan-fry the chicken thighs for 3-4 minutes each side.
4. Add in U.S. pinto beans, diced and cherry tomatoes, fried bacon, onions, garlic, spinach, rosemary and water/stock.  Season with salt and black pepper.  Transfer to a preheated oven (200^oC) and bake for 40 minutes.
5. Garnish with some fresh spinach leaves before serving.

More information and cooking ideas using pulses can be found here:

https://pulses.asia