White Chicken & White Bean Chilli

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g chicken breast (3 fillets of about 200 g each)
• 2 tins white beans (530 g drained)
• 1 brown onion (about 100 g)
• 1 green pepper (about 150 g)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin + 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 chicken stock cube + 500 ml hot water
• 1 small tin sweetcorn (140 g drained)
• 150 g cream cheese
• 1 lime
• 10 g fresh coriander
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large casserole dish or stockpot
• Cutting board and knife
• Colander
• 2 forks
• Wooden spoon

📖 Steps

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and chop the garlic. Deseed the green pepper and cut it into small dice of about 1 cm. Drain the white beans and sweetcorn, then rinse them in a colander under cold water to remove the liquid from the tin.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat. Fry the onion and pepper for 6 min, stirring, until soft and lightly golden. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano and stir for 1 min: the spices should smell fragrant without burning.
3. Pour in the stock (cube dissolved in the 500 ml hot water) and add the beans. Scoop out a ladleful of beans, mash them with a fork in a bowl, then return them to the pot: this purée will naturally thicken the chilli.
4. Bring to a simmer and push the whole chicken fillets down into the beans so they are at least half submerged. Cover and cook over a low heat for 15 to 18 min, turning them halfway through. The stock should simmer, not boil, to keep the meat tender.
5. Take out one fillet and cut into the centre: the flesh should be white with no trace of pink, otherwise cook for 3 min more. Place the fillets on a board and shred them with 2 forks, pulling along the grain.
6. Return the shredded chicken to the pot with the sweetcorn. Simmer uncovered over a low heat for 5 min to reduce the liquid a little: the chilli should be thick, like a very hearty soup.
7. Off the heat, add the cream cheese in pieces and stir until it has completely melted and the sauce turns creamy. Don't let it boil again after this step, or the cheese may split and go lumpy.
8. Drizzle with the lime juice, season with salt and pepper and taste to adjust. Chop the coriander and scatter it over each bowl when serving. For meal prep, divide between 4 containers and keep the coriander separate.