Mexican Black Bean and Chicken Stew

Bring a large pot of water to the boil with 1/2 tsp of salt. LH: Put your rice in a sieve (if you have one) and run water through it for at least 30 seconds. Once the water is boiling, add the rice to the pot and cook on a rapid boil for 25 mins. When the rice is cooked, drain, take off the heat, cover with a tea towel and leave until everything else is ready. Tip: If the rice dries out before it’s cooked just add a bit more water! Tip: If the rice is ready before everything else, don’t worry... it will wait!

Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to a frying pan on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 mins. Add the cumin and cook for another 3 mins.

While your onion and garlic is cooking, cut up your chicken into 3cm pieces and when the onion and garlic has softened (after 6 mins) add the chicken to the pan. Cook for about 4 mins making sure the outside of the chicken pieces are cooked. Tip: You don’t have to completely cook your chicken at this stage.

Add the chipotle paste to the pan with the chicken along with the pepper, chopped tomato and chopped oregano leaves. Stir together and cook for about 3 mins until everything has softened a little.

Drain the black beans, put them in a sieve and run some cold water through them to rinse them. Add the beans to the chicken pan along with your stock pot and 350ml of water. Simmer on a low heat uncovered for 15 mins until it thickens up and the vegetables are soft. Tip: Stir occasionally to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan.