Braised Pesto Butter Beans with Crispy Chicken Thighs and Whipped Roasted Garlic Butter
Elevate your weeknight dinner with this delightful dish featuring tender braised pesto butter beans paired with succulent crispy chicken thighs. The star of the show is the luscious whipped roasted garlic butter that brings everything together in a creamy, garlicky hug. It's an effortless yet impressive meal that will have your friends begging for the recipe!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
intermediate
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(6)
- Basil
- 1 Garlic Head
- Garlic
- 1 Lemon
- Lemon
- Pepper
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- Chicken stock
- 4 Chicken thighs
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 1 Pack of Butter
- 2 Jars Butter beans
- Parmesan
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- Olive oil
- Pine nuts
🧂Spices & Seasonings(3)
- Bay leaf
- Sea salt
- Salt
🍯Sauces & Condiments(1)
- White wine
📦Other(2)
- Creme fraiche
- Shallots
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Start by beheading and roasting a whole head of garlic. Place in tin foil, cover with olive oil, salt and pop in the oven.
- 2
Prep chicken thighs by patting them dry and rubbing salt into the skin for a good sear.
- 3
Coat your pan in a generous amount of olive oil and once your pan is smoking hot, push your chicken thighs in, skin side down.
- 4
Let the other side dry and chop up some shallots.
- 5
Sear chicken thighs for about 5 minutes or until crispy, then flip and sear the flesh side for a further 1 minute before placing in a 180 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
- 6
In the chicken pan, add shallots and a diced clove of garlic. Fry these off in the chicken fat with a bay leaf until translucent.
- 7
Pour in 2 whole jars of high quality butter beans, a generous glug of white wine, fresh black pepper, lemon juice, a splash of boiling water, and a stock cube.
- 8
Bring to a simmer and stir and reduce.
- 9
Make a fresh pesto using fresh basil, parmesan, olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt, and pine nuts.
- 10
Add honey and a generous dollop of creme fraiche to the beans.
- 11
Whip the butter until pale and almost white.
- 12
Add roasted garlic and flaky sea salt to the whipped butter.
- 13
Serve the creamy chicken infused beans as the base, topped with the chicken, drizzled with pesto, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Optionally garnish with chives and serve with crusty bread.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Roast garlic at 400°F wrapped in foil for 35-40 minutes until cloves are golden and caramelized - this creates sweet, nutty compounds through Maillard reactions that won't develop at lower temperatures.technique400°F for 35-40 minutes
- ✓Salt chicken thighs 40-60 minutes before cooking to allow salt to penetrate and draw out surface moisture via osmosis, creating a drier surface for better Maillard browning.timing40-60 minutes
- ✓Heat your pan to 375-400°F (smoking point of olive oil) before adding chicken - this temperature instantly denatures proteins and creates the crispy skin through rapid moisture evaporation.technique375-400°F
- ✓Don't move chicken thighs for the full 5 minutes of searing - premature movement breaks the protein bonds forming the crust and releases trapped steam that prevents browning.timing5 minutes undisturbed
- ✓Add white wine to deglaze when shallots are translucent (about 3-4 minutes) - the alcohol dissolves fat-soluble flavor compounds from the fond that water-based liquids cannot extract.timing3-4 minutes for translucent shallots
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
intermediate
Share this recipe
Braised Pesto Butter Beans with Crispy Chicken Thighs and Whipped Roasted Garlic Butter
Elevate your weeknight dinner with this delightful dish featuring tender braised pesto butter beans paired with succulent crispy chicken thighs. The star of the show is the luscious whipped roasted garlic butter that brings everything together in a creamy, garlicky hug. It's an effortless yet impressive meal that will have your friends begging for the recipe!
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(6)
- Basil
- 1 Garlic Head
- Garlic
- 1 Lemon
- Lemon
- Pepper
🥩Meat & Seafood(2)
- Chicken stock
- 4 Chicken thighs
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 1 Pack of Butter
- 2 Jars Butter beans
- Parmesan
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- Olive oil
- Pine nuts
🧂Spices & Seasonings(3)
- Bay leaf
- Sea salt
- Salt
🍯Sauces & Condiments(1)
- White wine
📦Other(2)
- Creme fraiche
- Shallots
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Start by beheading and roasting a whole head of garlic. Place in tin foil, cover with olive oil, salt and pop in the oven.
- 2
Prep chicken thighs by patting them dry and rubbing salt into the skin for a good sear.
- 3
Coat your pan in a generous amount of olive oil and once your pan is smoking hot, push your chicken thighs in, skin side down.
- 4
Let the other side dry and chop up some shallots.
- 5
Sear chicken thighs for about 5 minutes or until crispy, then flip and sear the flesh side for a further 1 minute before placing in a 180 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
- 6
In the chicken pan, add shallots and a diced clove of garlic. Fry these off in the chicken fat with a bay leaf until translucent.
- 7
Pour in 2 whole jars of high quality butter beans, a generous glug of white wine, fresh black pepper, lemon juice, a splash of boiling water, and a stock cube.
- 8
Bring to a simmer and stir and reduce.
- 9
Make a fresh pesto using fresh basil, parmesan, olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt, and pine nuts.
- 10
Add honey and a generous dollop of creme fraiche to the beans.
- 11
Whip the butter until pale and almost white.
- 12
Add roasted garlic and flaky sea salt to the whipped butter.
- 13
Serve the creamy chicken infused beans as the base, topped with the chicken, drizzled with pesto, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Optionally garnish with chives and serve with crusty bread.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Roast garlic at 400°F wrapped in foil for 35-40 minutes until cloves are golden and caramelized - this creates sweet, nutty compounds through Maillard reactions that won't develop at lower temperatures.technique400°F for 35-40 minutes
- ✓Salt chicken thighs 40-60 minutes before cooking to allow salt to penetrate and draw out surface moisture via osmosis, creating a drier surface for better Maillard browning.timing40-60 minutes
- ✓Heat your pan to 375-400°F (smoking point of olive oil) before adding chicken - this temperature instantly denatures proteins and creates the crispy skin through rapid moisture evaporation.technique375-400°F
- ✓Don't move chicken thighs for the full 5 minutes of searing - premature movement breaks the protein bonds forming the crust and releases trapped steam that prevents browning.timing5 minutes undisturbed
- ✓Add white wine to deglaze when shallots are translucent (about 3-4 minutes) - the alcohol dissolves fat-soluble flavor compounds from the fond that water-based liquids cannot extract.timing3-4 minutes for translucent shallots