Chicken And Tomato Hotpot

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 300g frozen classic vegetable base mix
• 30g pack fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons tomato purée
• 500g ripe tomatoes
• 400g tin cannellini beans
• 600g potatoes
• 2 tablespoons black olives (optional)

Preparation

1. preheat the oven to 160°c. drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil into a large casserole pan over a medium heat, add the frozen veg and cook for 10 mins. finely slice the parsley stalks, chop the chicken into 3cm chunks, then add both to the pan and cook for 5 mins.
2. stir in the four and tomato purée. roughly chop the tomatoes, adding them to the pan as you go, then tip in the beans with their juices and 300ml water and bring to the boil.
3. scrub and slice the potatoes to 0.5cm-thick rounds. roughly chop the parsley leaves. turn the heat off the stew, add most of the parsley and all the olives, if using; season to taste. carefully layer the potatoes over the stew, season, drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and bake for 20 mins.
4. remove the casserole from the oven and use the back of a spoon to gently push the potatoes down a little into the stew juices. return to the oven for 20-25 mins until the potatoes are crispy. sprinkle over the remaining parsley to serve.