There is something comforting about a big bowl of warming stew that’s completely irreplaceable.
This delicious shredded chicken stew combines tasty veg, herbs and beans to create a high-protein, low-carb meal that’s full of nutrients and flavour.
It’s a two hour “investment” of your time making it ideal as a weekend batch cook. By investment, I mean you can pretty much leave it alone to cook and do its thing, you just have to be around to take it off the hob.

Ingredients to feed 4 (or 2 plus 2 lunches)
Tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large or 2 small sticks of celery, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 medium carrots, peeled & sliced
250g (1 pack) of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
leaves from 2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf (fresh or dried)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 chicken breasts
500g passata (sieved tomato, find it next to chopped tomatoes)
250ml chicken stock
1 tin of butter beans, drained
1 tin of kidney beans, drained
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
sour cream & fresh parsley to serve (optional)

Method:
Heat the rapeseed oil in a casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the onion and celery, season with sea salt and black pepper and cook with the lid on for 5 minutes until the onion has softened.
Add the garlic, carrot, mushrooms, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, cumin and paprika, season again with sea salt and black pepper and cook for a couple of minutes.
Put the chicken breasts on top of the veg, stir in the passata and stock and season again, stirring well.
Bring to the boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer for an hour with the lid on.
Take the lid off the pan and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken breasts and shred them with a fork. Return the shredded chicken to the pan alongside the beans. Cook for a couple of minutes to heat the beans through then ladle into bowls.
Top with soured cream and fresh parsley to serve.