Marry Me Three Times with Beans, Chicken & Pie
They say third time’s a charm, and this might just prove it.
Think of this as one dish, three options: start with creamy Marry Me Beans, add chicken if you want something a little heartier, or take it one step further and tuck the whole lot under golden puff pastry.
Same delicious Marry Me base, three different ways to make it your own - depending on what you feel like, or how much time you have!
SERVES: 5-6 PREP TIME: 15 mins TOTAL TIME : 30 mins
Marry Me Beans : the starting point & very good all on its own
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 thumb of unsalted butter
1 large leek, washed well and finely sliced
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp baby capers, chopped
3-4 tinned anchovies
1 tbsp plain flour (GF if required)
2 cups chicken broth/stock
½ cup pure or double cream
2 x 400g tins cannellini or butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 Parmesan rind, if you have one (I freeze mine!)
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
2 cups baby or english spinach
Freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan or large shallow dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leek and cook gently until soft and sweet. Add the anchovies and stir through until they’re melted in.
Add the garlic, capers and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute, then add the dijon and tomato paste and stir through. Sprinkle over the flour and mix well, cooking for a minute before gradually adding the stock.
Add the rinsed beans, followed by the cream and then Parmesan, stir through and pop in the rind if using. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened and the beans are creamy and tender.
Season generously with black pepper and sea salt to taste, and then add the spinach and cook until wilted.
Remove the rind just before serving, and enjoy with crusty bread to scoop up all the goodness.
Stop here and enjoy the beans as they are, or keep going with one of the options below.
Marry Me Chicken & Beans
EXTRA TIME REQUIRED: 20 mins
INGREDIENTS
Marry Me Beans
500–600g boneless chicken thighs or chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Extra chicken stock, as needed
Extra Parmesan and fresh basil, to serve
METHOD
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken until golden and almost cooked through.
Add to your Marry Me Beans and a splash of chicken stock to loosen the sauce.
Simmer gently until the chicken is completely cooked and the sauce is hot and creamy.
Finish with Parmesan, a drizzle more EVOO and season with S&P and enjoy with crusty bread.
Or, if you’re in the mood for pie, keep going — because they say third time’s a charm…
Marry Me Chicken & Bean Pie
EXTRA TIME FOR BAKING: 30 mins
INGREDIENTS
Leftover Marry Me Chicken & Beans
1 sheet good-quality all-butter puff pastry (I use Careme)
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced.
If using the base recipe from the day before, warm the leftover chicken and beans just enough to loosen the sauce. If the filling has thickened considerably overnight, add a small splash of stock — you want it creamy, but not runny.
Transfer to a pie or baking dish and allow the filling to cool slightly.
Lay the puff pastry over the top, trim the edges and press to seal. Cut a few small slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape, then brush generously with egg wash.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes (or follow the instructions of the pastry you’re using) and bake until the pastry is deeply golden, puffed and crisp.
And there you have it:
Marry Me Beans → Marry Me Chicken → Marry Me Pie.
One dish. Three options. Beans as they are, add chicken for something heartier, or turn the whole thing into a golden, bubbling pie.
Third time’s a charm indeed.
Buon appetito x
