Here’s a simple way of making a colourful, interesting stew with meaty chipolata sausages and creamy butter beans, the flavours given a hint of Greece with tomato and oregano and snap of chilli. It’s the sort of meal-in-a-bowl that tempts greediness, so be warned. Serve it alone or with green beans.
Serves 3-4
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 30 min
½ chicken stock cube
500ml boiling water
500g meaty pork chipolatas
130g onion or shallot
2 tbsp olive oil
400g tin chopped tomatoes
pinch chilli flakes
700g jar Navarrico Judion large butter beans
few sprigs thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
Boil the kettle. Measure off 500ml boiling water into a medium-sized pan and dissolve the stock cube. Bring to simmer over a medium heat, add the sausages and establish a steady but not too vigorous simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, halve, peel and finely chop the onion and soften in 1 tbsp olive oil in a spacious, lidded pan that can hold all the ingredients. When slippery soft, stir in the tomatoes, generous pinch chilli flakes, butter beans and their juices, thyme and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Scoop the chipolatas out of the pan but keep the water. Place remaining oil in a mixing bowl and add the chipolatas, rolling them through the oil with tongs. Heat a griddle and when very hot, sear the sausages in batches, turning after a couple of minutes – using tongs – and transferring to a plate as you go. Add a cupful of the poaching liquid so the stew is juicy and season to taste with salt and lemon. Bury the sausages in the stew, warm through and eat now or later.