Sage, Squash & Butter Bean Chicken

Serves: 2
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 skin-on chicken breasts

• 45g unsalted butter

• 2 garlic cloves

• 350g butternut squash

• 1 × 400g tin butter beans

• 1 small banana shallot

• 8 fresh sage leaves

• 75ml dry white wine

• 175ml good chicken stock

• 2.5 tsp white miso paste

• 25g Parmesan

• 40ml double cream

• 1 Lemon

• 15g hazelnuts

Method

1. Get the squash roasting

Heat the oven to 200°C fan.

Peel and deseed the butternut squash, then cut it into roughly 2cm cubes.

Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Spread over a roasting tray in a single layer and roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once, until tender and well caramelised.

2. Sear the chicken

While the squash is roasting, pat the chicken breasts completely dry and season both sides with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Peel and lightly crush the garlic.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Lay the chicken in skin-side down and cook for 6–8 minutes, until the skin is deeply golden and crisp.

Turn the chicken over, add half of the butter and the crushed garlic, then baste for around 1 minute.

Transfer the chicken to a separate ovenproof tray skin-side up and place it in the oven for around 10 minutes, or until cooked through.

Leave the frying pan as it is — the butter and cooking juices left behind will form the base of the beans.

3. Start the butter beans

While the chicken is in the oven, peel and finely dice the shallot.

Peel and finely grate the garlic, then finely slice the sage.

Drain the butter beans.

Return the pan used for the chicken to medium-low heat.

Add the shallot to the butter and cooking juices left in the pan and cook for 5–6 minutes, until softened.

Add the grated garlic and sage and cook for another 1 minute.

Pour in the white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and simmer until reduced by roughly two-thirds.

Add the chicken stock and miso, stirring until completely combined.

Take the pan off the heat until the chicken comes out of the oven.

4. Rest the chicken and finish the beans

Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven and leave it to rest while you finish everything else.

Take the squash from the oven once deeply golden and tender and set aside for serving.

Add the butter beans to the sauce and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes. Allow a few of the beans to break down naturally to help thicken the sauce.

Finely grate the Parmesan.

Stir most of the Parmesan through the beans with the double cream, keeping some back for serving.

Add plenty of black pepper, then taste and add a pinch of salt if needed.

Keep the beans over a very low heat, loosening with a splash of water or stock if needed.

5. Make the sage and hazelnut brown butter

Melt the rest of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Add the sage leaves and cook until the butter turns golden brown and smells nutty and the sage becomes crisp.

Add the whole hazelnuts and cook for another 30–60 seconds, then remove from the heat.

6. Plate

Cut the lemon into cheeks for serving.

Spoon the butter beans into two shallow bowls.

Scatter the roasted squash over the top.

Cut the rested chicken into thick slices and arrange over the squash and beans with the crisp skin facing upwards.

Spoon the whole hazelnuts and brown butter over everything.

Finish with the crispy sage leaves, the remaining Parmesan and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Tuck a cheek of lemon into the side of each bowl for squeezing over at the table.