Chicken with Sobresada, Courgettes and Butter Beans

Our journey through Mediterranean continues, this time stopping in Palma de Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain. Good luck finding sobresada (a spicy cured sausage) outside of Spain. Substitute Spanish-style chorizo instead.

NOTE: We had the leftovers for this a few days later and, WOW, did this benefit with two days rest in the fridge. Just cut the chicken up into smaller pieces and bring to heat over a medium-low flame until heated through. This way, the chicken doesn't dry out as it would in the microwave. The spices certainly were a whole lot more pronounced.


100 g butter beans, drained and rinsed
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
10 g garlic, finely chopped
1 can tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 chicken breasts
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
75 g chorizo picante, or sobresada, if you can find it, very thinly sliced
350 g zucchini, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into slices
10 g fresh parsley, chopped
225 g spaghetti, or other thin pasta, cooked

First make the tomato sauce. Put 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and garlic into a medium sized pan and as soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, add the tomatoes and simmer for 15-20 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as they cook, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and some freshly ground black pepper. The sauce is ready to use. If not using right away, leave to cool, then chill and refrigerate or freeze for later use.

Now the rest of the dish. If using dried beans which have been soaked overnight, drain them, and tip them into a pan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 20-25 minutes until almost tender. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and continue to cook until tender - another 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. If using canned beans, drain them and rinse them under cold water. Set aside.

Get a pot of water boiling. When it reaches a rapid boil, throw in a handful of salt and cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander but DO NOT RINSE. If you do this at the same time as the rest of the dish, the pasta should be done a bit before the rest of the dish so it will likely stay hot.

Season the chicken breasts on both sides with some salt and pepper. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan, add the cicken breasts, skin-side down (unless you're using skinless) and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat until golden brown. Turn over and cook for a further 5 minutes. Move the chicken to one side and add the chili flakes and sobresada (or chorizo, whichever you're using) and allow the sobresada to melt into the oil. Turn the chicken breasts over in the now spicy oil until well coated and then lower the heat, scatter over the zucchini, cover, and leave to simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pan, add the cooked or raw canned butter beans and tomato sauce, re-cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes until the beans are heated through. Scatter with the chopped parsley and serve.