miso leek butter beans with chilli chicken

This is one of those dinners that starts with a handful of simple ingredients and somehow turns into something you’d happily eat straight from the pan. The butter beans slowly simmer with leek, garlic, miso and chicken stock until they’re soft, creamy and have soaked up all that savoury flavour. A little lemon and plenty of parmesan at the end makes the whole thing rich and silky, while the chilli oil chicken adds a little sweetness, spice and that delicious char from the barbecue.

The only chilli oil I’ll ever use is from Soka Pantry. As a nutritionist, one of my biggest frustrations with most chilli oils on the market is that they’re made with seed oils, which are inflammatory and not something I want to be pouring over my food daily. It’s extremely hard to find a chilli oil that isn’t built on a neutral seed oil base, which is what made Soka Pantry stand out to me — theirs is made with an extra virgin olive oil base instead, so you get that rounder, more savoury depth alongside the chilli heat, without the inflammatory downside.

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Serves 3

Ingredients:

For the miso leek butter beans

• 1 leek, diced

• 3 garlic cloves, diced

• Olive oil, for the pan

• 2 x 400g tins butter beans, rinsed and drained

• 2 heaped teaspoons miso paste

• 400ml chicken stock

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Juice of ½ lemon

• Lots of black pepper

• Lots of grated parmesan

• 1 big handful Tuscan kale

For the chilli chicken

• 1 heaped teaspoon Soka Pantry chilli oil, plus extra to serve

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 4 chicken thighs (about 200g)

To serve

• Fresh coriander

• Extra Soka Pantry chilli oil

Method:

1. Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a fry pan and sauté the leek and garlic until translucent.

2. Add the butter beans and give everything a mix.

3. Stir through the miso paste and cook for a minute to let the flavour develop.

4. Pour in the chicken stock, then season generously with salt and pepper.

5. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer with the lid on for about an hour if you have the time, so the flavours absorb and the stock reduces down.

6. Meanwhile, mix the Soka Pantry chilli oil, soy sauce, sesame oil and honey in a bowl. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes if you can — if not, that’s fine too.

7. Barbecue the chicken on a hot 200-degree barbecue for 8–10 minutes per side, until cooked through and charred at the edges.

8. Once the beans have reduced, stir through the lemon juice, plenty of black pepper and a generous amount of grated parmesan.

9. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, mix through the Tuscan kale and let it wilt into the beans.

10. Divide the miso leek butter beans between three bowls, top with the sliced chicken, and finish with fresh coriander and an extra drizzle of Soka Pantry chilli oil.

The creamy, savoury beans with the sticky, slightly spicy chicken are such a good combination, but it’s that final spoonful of crunchy chilli oil that brings everything together.

Enjoy my loves,
Claudia xx