Spanish-Style Chicken & Pepper Stew With Rice

Take your chicken out of the fridge, open the packet and let it air, then preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7

Add your chicken thighs to a baking tray (use tin foil to avoid mess!) with a drizzle of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt

Sprinkle over your ground smoked paprika and give everything a good mix up, then put the tray in the oven for 17-18 min or until cooked through (no pink meat!)

Whilst the chicken is in the oven, deseed your pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and chop roughly

Chop your cherry tomatoes in half

Peel and finely chop (or grate) your garlic

Add your white long grain rice to a pot with a lid with 225ml [300ml] [450ml] cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 12-15 min or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked

Once done, remove from the heat and set aside (lid on) to steam until serving

Whilst the rice is cooking, heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium heat

Once hot, add the chopped cherry tomatoes and half the chopped garlic (save the rest for later!) with a pinch of sugar and a generous pinch of salt and cook for 1-2 min or until the garlic has slightly softened

Once slightly softened, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 6-8 min or until the cherry tomatoes begin to break down

Boil a kettle

Dissolve your chicken stock mix and tomato paste in 300ml [400ml] [500ml] boiled water – this is your stock

Chop your black olives roughly

Add the stock, chopped pepper and chopped black olives to the pan and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 6-8 min or until the sauce has slightly thickened

Meanwhile, combine the remaining garlic (don't like raw garlic? Go easy!), white wine vinegar and mayo in a bowl and mix everything together – this is your garlic aioli

Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oven and transfer it to a clean board and shred apart using two forks – this technique is known as 'pulling'

Add the pulled chicken and oregano to the pan and cook for a final 2-3 min or until the chicken is warmed through

Season generously with black pepper – this is your Spanish-style chicken & pepper stew