Midweek Meals: Colm O'Gorman's comforting stews - a world of warmth for the winter

Method

1. If you are using a whole chicken, begin by cutting it into portions. Start by pulling a leg away from the body to see where the thigh attaches to the body. Use a sharp knife to cut through the skin between the thigh and the breast. Pull on the leg a little more and wiggle it to see where the thigh connects with the joint on the back of the chicken. Use a sharp knife to cut through that joint.

2. Place the leg and thigh portion skin-side down. Bend the leg to feel for the ball joint where the drumstick and thigh are connected. Use your knife to cut through the joint and separate the thigh and drumstick. Repeat with the other leg. Remove the skin and any excess fat from the thighs.

3. Once you have removed both legs, place the chicken on a board, breast side down. Use a meat shears or a sharp knife to cut along one side of the backbone. Next, cut along the other side and remove the backbone. Turn the chicken over and press down on the top with your hands to flatten the crown of the chicken. Use a sharp knife to cut along the centre to separate the breasts. Trim away any protruding bones, especially small rib bones, and any excess fat. Cut each breast crossways into three pieces, removing the skin from each but leaving it on the wings.

4. Peel and roughly chop the onion. Peel and chop the garlic. Peel and first thinly slice the ginger, before then cutting it into thin strips. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over a high heat in a large casserole dish or Dutch oven. When the oil is shimmering, reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken portions. Cook for four to five minutes, turning to sear the meat all over. You may need to do this in two batches depending upon the size of your casserole dish. Remove the chicken from the casserole dish and set it aside.

5. Add the chopped onion to the casserole dish. Sautee the onion for a few minutes until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook for one more minute, stirring all the time to prevent the garlic from burning. Add the red pepper flakes, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, gochujang, and the honey. Stir to combine and add the chicken back to the pot. Stir to thoroughly coat the chicken. Add 500ml of cold water, turn up the heat and bring a soft boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for fifteen minutes.

6. While the chicken is simmering away, wash and peel the carrots and parsnips. Cut away the tops and chop the vegetables into 3cm chunks. Wash the baby potatoes and cut them into chunks roughly the same size as the carrots and parsnips. When the chicken has been simmering for fifteen minutes, remove the lid and add the carrots, parsnips, and baby potatoes. Stir the pot and bring it back to the boil. Reduce the heat, pop back on the lid and simmer for another fifteen minutes until the vegetable and potatoes are cooked through and the chicken is tender.

7. Wash and roughly chop the spring onions. Add two thirds of the onions to the pot, along with a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil and a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds. Stir those through and you are ready to dish up.

8. Serve in warm bowls, with the last of the chopped spring onion scattered over the top and a little thinly sliced red chilli for a splash of colour.

Method

1. If your pork joint is rolled and tied, remove the string, and unroll it. Cut the meat into six large pieces, leaving any fat on the meat. Do not be tempted to remove the fat as it adds a lot of flavour to this dish.

2. Peel and chop the onion and the garlic.

3. Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish over a high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, reduce the heat to medium and add the pork to the pan. Sear the meat, turning it as you go until it is browned all over. This will take just a few minutes. When all the meat is seared, remove the pork from the pan and set aside for now.

4. Add the chopped onions to the casserole dish, and sauté for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

5. Next, add the bay leaves, the dried spices, and the salt. Cook the spices, stirring all the time to prevent them from sticking until they become fragrant, just a minute or two will do it. Add the chipotle paste and stir that through, before adding the passata or chopped tomatoes and the molasses. Stir to combine everything and cook for one more minute. Next, stir in the chicken stock and bring the pan to a soft boil.

6. Pop the pork back in the casserole, along with any juices from the meat, and stir to coat the pork in the sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and pop it in the oven at 160° Celsius for one hour and 30 minutes.

7. Peel the butternut squash. Remove the stalk and the base and cut it in two lengthways. Remove the seeds and the stringy pith from the centre and cut the squash into 3cm chunks. Drain and rinse the tinned cannellini beans.

8. When the pork has been in the oven for 90 minutes, remove it carefully using an oven glove. Add the chopped butternut squash and the cannellini beans to the casserole dish and stir them. There should still be enough liquid to pretty much cover the pork, the squash, and the beans, but if you need to, you can add a little water to the pot at this stage — about 125 ml will be plenty.

9. Cover the casserole once more and pop it back in the oven until the squash is cooked through and the pork is very tender and falls apart easily — 30 minutes will do it.

10. Wash and roughly chop some flat-leaf parsley and stir it through the stew. Serve your pork and beans in big warmed bowls with fresh crusty bread on the side and some more fresh parsley scattered over the top.

Method

1. Begin by making the dough for the chapatis. Combine the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Grate in the clove of garlic and add the olive oil. Stir well to combine.

2. Next, gradually add the hot water mixing as you go. Use a spoon at this stage as the water should be just boiled and too hot to mix by hand. When the dough has come together, it should be cool enough to begin to knead it by hand. Knead for about five minutes until smooth. Cover it and let it rest for about 15 minutes while you get on with making the stew.

3. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and grate the ginger and the garlic. Deseed and finely chop the chilli. Melt two tablespoons of coconut oil in a large saucepan over a high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, reduce the heat to medium and add the onion. Sautée for a minute or two and then add the garlic, ginger, and green chilli. Cook for two minutes before adding the turmeric. Give it another minute, stirring all the time.

4. Pour in the coconut milk and bring the pan to a soft boil. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and add them to the pot along with the salt. Stir well and bring the pot back to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until the coconut milk reduces down and the stew thickens.

5. While the Mbaazi is simmering, cook the chapati.

6. Tear away a little dough and roll it into a ball about the size of a golf ball. On a floured surface, press the ball flat using the palm of your hand and roll it out into a rough disc about 3mm thick and the size of a side plate.

7. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a very high heat. Pop the chapati onto the dry pan and cook for one minute or until you see bubbles begin to form on the surface of chapati. Flip it over and cook for another minute or two on the other side. When it puffs up, remove it from the pan and place it on your work surface. Place your hands on either side of the chapati and clap them together to fluff it up and make it lovely and flaky. Brush the top side of the chapati with some melted butter or a little olive oil. Now roll it up and pop it into a barely warm oven. Repeat until you have used all the dough. You will get 8-10 chapati from this recipe.

8. By now your Mbaazi should be done. Add the coconut sugar and use a potato masher to lightly mash some of the beans, leaving most of them whole. This will give you a creamy stew with a lovely texture. Finally, add a splash of lemon juice and taste. Add more seasoning if needed.

9. Serve in warm bowls with a little more chopped fresh green chilli on top, and the chapati on the side.

Method

1. Pop the bacon into a large pot of cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for fifty minutes, before removing it from the pan and setting aside to cool just a little. Retain the cooking water as you will add some to the pot of Coddle later.

2. Wash and peel the potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. Cut the potatoes into quarters, and the other vegetables into 3cm chunks. Peel and thickly slice the onions.

3. Warm a large casserole dish or Dutch oven over a high heat. Add a splash of olive oil, reduce the heat to medium and fry the sausages until they are nicely browned all over, just a few minutes should do it. When they are browned, remove them from the pot and set aside.

4. Add the sliced onions to the same pot, reduce the heat to low and cook until soft and translucent. Take care not to brown them too much, a coddle is traditionally a white stew, so just fry them four to five minutes stirring them regularly. Add a bay leaf and a few sprigs of fresh thyme to the pan once the onions are softened.

5. Cut the cooked bacon into thick slices and use two forks to tear the meat into bite sized pieces. Cut the sausage into quarters, again, aim for bite sized pieces.

6. Add the sausages and bacon to the pan along with the carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. Pour over 500ml of stock, and a few ladles of the cooking water from the bacon. Stir to mix the contents of the pot and bring it to the boil. Once it is bubbling away, reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for fifteen to twenty minutes until the vegetables and potatoes are cooked through. To see if they are done, just slide a knife into some of the potatoes and carrots. The potatoes should be soft and just beginning to fall apart, but still retaining their shape. The carrots and parsnips should be perfectly soft, with the knife sliding though easily.

7. The potatoes will have helped to thicken the Coddle, but if you think it needs to be a little thicker, mix a tablespoon of cornflour and two tablespoons of water into a slurry. Add that to the Coddle and stir through. Simmer the pot for another minute or two to thicken the stew and cook out the flavour of the cornflour.

8. Wash and roughly chop a few tablespoons of parsley and stir it into the Coddle. Add a generous grind of black pepper and taste. Add more pepper if required. Serve the stew in warm bowls with a little more chopped parsley scattered on top.

9. Serve with some freshly baked soda bread on the side.

Method

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and grate the garlic. Wash and finely chop the green chillies, retaining the seeds if you like a little heat, but discarding them if you want a mildly spiced chilli. Warm two tablespoons of olive oil over a high heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. When the oil starts to shimmer, reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onion. Sautee the onion for three to four minutes until it begins to soften. Next, add the grated garlic and the chopped green chillies. Continue to cook for another minute or two, stirring all the time until the raw smell from the garlic cooks out.

2. Add the ground cumin, sweet paprika, oregano, ground coriander and cayenne pepper and cook the spices in for another minute, stirring all the time to avoid burning them. Next, add the chicken stock.

3. Drain and rinse the tinned cannellini beans and add those to the pan. Stir to combine everything well and bring the pan to a soft boil. Add the salt and a good grind of black pepper, reduce the pan to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for fifteen minutes over a low heat.

4. While the pot is simmering away, stand an ear of corn on one end in a bowl and use a sharp knife to cut away all the kernels. You can use frozen sweetcorn for convenience if you wish, but fresh corn will give the best flavour. Chop the cooked chicken into 2cm chunks, or you can shred it if you prefer.

5. When the pan has simmered for fifteen minutes, remove the lid, and use a potato masher to gently crush roughly half of the beans into the stock to give you a nice thick, creamy casserole consistency.

6. Add the corn and the cooked chicken, stirring both in to combine them in the sauce. Increase the heat to medium and cook for five minutes to warm the chicken through and cook the corn. Next, add the chopped coriander and the juice of a lime. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding more lime juice, salt, ground black pepper or cayenne pepper if required.

7. Remove the pan from the heat. Serve your white chicken chilli in warm bowls with a spoonful of sour cream, some avocado, lime wedges, thinly sliced red onion, pickled jalapeno peppers or sliced red chillies and some fresh coriander scattered on top with tortilla chips on the side.