This Sunday I decided that I would mix up a few different recipes for the weekly batch cook. So I have sort of combined the Peanut and Sweet potato stew with the Moroccan style chicken and lentil tray bake. What!!! What!! What even is that?

What is it – is a comforting a moreish stew…

I boiled four chicken thighs (with bones and skin) with water, one chopped onion, one chicken stock cube and a teaspoon of salt. I let this mixture boil for 30 minutes.

While that was happening, I chopped up another onion and sautéed that in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. When the onions where translucent I mixed in a teaspoon of ras el hanout and let that cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally so that the onions didn’t burn and stick to the the pot. I also chopped up one potato (skin on) and one carrot (peeled), I drained and rinsed one can of chickpeas and I had a tub of cooked Beluga lentils. All of these were going to form the bulk of my stew.

Once 30 minutes had passed, I took the chicken thighs out of the pot and into a bowl. I poured my hot chicken stock into a measuring jug and whisked it with two tablespoons of tomato purée.

I added the lentils, chickpeas, potato and carrot pieces to the spice and onions and stirred together until everything was mixed together. I then added the chicken stock and tomato mixture and topped up with additional water until the vegetables were covered.

Then I removed the chicken skin and bones from the thighs and chopped up the chicken pieces into bite sized chunks. I added the chicken pieces to the stew.

I let the whole thing cook and simmer for 40 minutes, checking that the potatoes where soft before I turned off the heat.

Much of the water had evaporated, giving my stew a very thick consistency, so I did have to add a little more to make it more creamy than paste like.

The finally result had a very soft and comforting taste. It’s very moreish and I had to exert quite a bit of self control not to eat the whole pot! However I was good. Ignacio and I had one bowl each and the rest has been stored away ready for the working week ahead.