Grandma’s Stew Peas With Chicken

Grandma’s Stew Peas with Chicken

This dish takes a family recipe for stew peas & adds a modern, seasonal and nutritional twist, with

the inclusion of quinoa, brussel sprouts and kale. Whilst it may not be a quick, mid-week meal,

(though I believe it could be, time permitting), it is a great meal to make with the family on the

weekend. The kids can get involved as there are several elements to be completed, which are not

too complex. Finally, make sure to serve on the table in bowls so that everyone can help themselves!

Serves: 4

Total cooking time: Approx. one hour.

Stew peas with chicken (35-45 minutes)

For the chicken:

4-5 chicken thighs

4x crushed garlic cloves

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp. plain flour

½ tsp cinnamon

Remember to always wash your hands when handling chicken - before, during & after. Place the

chicken thighs in a bowl and drizzle over some olive oil (enough for a thin coating). Add the crushed

garlic cloves and thoroughly mix in with the thighs. This can be done the night before. In a separate

bowl, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, chilli powder, flour and cinnamon. Once mixed through,

empty the seasoned flour into the chicken and mix once more, till each chicken thigh has a small

coating of the seasoned flour.

Heat some olive oil in a heavy based pot, over a medium-high heat. Sear the chicken in the pot till

the coating develops a dark brown colour. This is pivotal. Once sealed & browned all over, remove

the chicken from the pot and set aside. Turn the heat off. But do not empty the oil out or clean the

pot, this will be needed for the next stage.

For the stew peas:

1x large onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

3x sprigs of thyme, finely chopped (or 3 tsp of dried thyme)

1x sprig of rosemary

1x chilli, chopped

1x chopped carrot

2 tbsp. of West Indian curry powder

1 tbsp. of tomato puree

½ pint of good quality chicken stock

¼ tin of kidney beans

½ tin of chickpeas

½ tin of gungo peas (if you cannot acquire these, use black-eyed peas instead)

Salt & pepper to taste

Method – Begin to re-heat your pot over a medium heat & add a little more oil. Add your onion,

garlic, thyme, rosemary, chilli and carrot to the pot. Allow the ingredients to pick up to slightly sweat

down and catch some of the leftover residue from the browned chicken. After 6-8 minutes, add your

West Indian curry powder, mix through the vegetables and allow to cook out for a further few

minutes, followed by the tomato puree, which similarly should be cooked for a couple of minutes.

At this stage, your vegetables should be sweating down nicely & the smell from the pot should be

amazing as the flavours begin to concentrate down. You are now ready to add your chicken stock,

kidney beans, chickpeas and gungo peas. Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer. Once

simmering, reintroduce the chicken, add a lid and allow to cook until the chicken is tender &

succulent. This should take approximately 30 minutes. If you are concerned that the mixture is

slightly too thick or that it will catch on the bottom, then add a drop of water & reduce the heat right

down. It must be stressed that this is designed to be quite a thick gravy. Whilst the chicken is

cooking, you can proceed with making the other elements (listed below).

Rice and quinoa (5 minutes)

1x 250g microwaveable pouch/pack of wild rice & long grain rice mix

1x 250g microwavable pouch/pack of quinoa

½ red pepper, diced

½ yellow pepper, diced

1x red chilli, medium heat, finely chopped

1x scallion/spring onion, chopped

Handful of peanuts, chopped

½ lime, juiced

Small bunch of basil leaves, chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Method – Microwave your rice & quinoa pouches, by following the instructions on the packaging.

Once heated through, empty the pouches into a bowl and combine with the red pepper, yellow

pepper, chilli, scallion/spring onion, peanuts, lime juice and basil. Once thoroughly combined, season

with salt & pepper to taste and set aside.

Fried Plantain (5-7 minutes)

1x large, ripe plantain, sliced

Butter, for frying

Salt to taste

Method – Heat a heavy based pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. worth of butter & continue to

heat until it begins to foam. At this point, add the plantain, turn the heat up a little more and fry for

approximately 5 minutes or until they have turned golden-brown and began to slightly crisp up.

Season with a small pinch of salt and set aside.

Fried Sprouts and Kale (7-8 minutes)

2x big handfuls of Brussel Sprouts, halved

1x big handful of kale

Olive oil, for frying

1x pinch of dried chilli flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat a 1 tbsp. of oil in a frying pan over a medium high heat. Add the Brussel Sprout halves and fry

till they begin to turn a slightly golden-brown colour. At this point, add the kale and cook for a

further few minutes. The water present in the kale will begin to steam, at this point, turn off the

heat, add the chilli flakes, season with salt & pepper and cover with a lid. The steam generated from

the kale will continue to slowly cook the vegetables.

Once the chicken is cooked, serve the rice & quinoa mix first, followed by the stew peas and chicken,

topped with Brussel sprouts & kale with a side of plantain. Top with sliced scallions as a garnish.

Enjoy.