Borlotti with garlic & olive oil

For ➏
2 kg fresh borlotti beans, shelled, or 1kg frozen or dried (soaked overnight if dried)(or use cannelini)
3 plum tomatoes, quartered
10 large unpeeled garlic cloves
8 large (or 16 small) fresh sage leaves
18 cl extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Combine beans, tomatoes, garlic, sage and oil in a medium pot. Add cold water to cover by 1 cm (about 40 cl). Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered and adding water as needed to keep beans submerged. Cookuntil tender, 35–45 m for fresh or frozen and up to 1½ hours for dried. Skim any foam from the surface. Season with salt, pepper, and more oil, if desired.
Beans can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool in cooking liquid; cover and chill. Return to room temperature before serving.
Serve beans warm or at room temperature.

English chicken casserole

For ➍
2 tbs vegetable oil
8 chicken thigh fillets
6 shallots, peeled & quartered
2 carrots, peeled & sliced thickly
110 g white mushrooms, cleaned & thinly sliced
8 new potatoes, scrubbed & quartered
1 l chicken stock
1 tbs roughly chopped flat parsley leaves, plus leaves for garnish
12 black olives, stoned
2 tbs crème fraîche
bread

Heat a large oven-proof casserole over a medium heat being careful not to make it too hot or the oil will smoke. Add the oil to the casserole and raise the heat slightly until hot but again, not smoking.  Add 4 of the chicken thighs and turn the thighs constantly in the hot oil until browned all over. Remove from the pan, place on kitchen towel to drain and keep to one side. Repeat this with the remaining 4 thighs.
Once the thighs are browned, to the hot pan add the quartered shallots,  sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms and the quartered potatoes . Stir thoroughly to make sure all the vegetables are covered with the oil.
Return the browned chicken thighs to the casserole,  pour the chicken stock over. Cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 20 m on a medium heat, the casserole should be bubbling but not boiling fiercely.
Add the parsley and olives, cover again with the lid and cook for a further 15 m or until the potatoes are tender, when pierced with a sharp knife.
Remove from the heat the casserole from the heat, stir in the cream, garnish with the parsley leaves.
Serve with crusty bread, a must for mopping up the lovely juices.

*Change the herbs to tarragon which is a classic herb for chicken.
Remove the olives and crème fraîche, adding canned borlotti or haricot blanc beans instead.
Keep the olives but remove the crème fraîche and add a can of drained chopped tomatoes.