Italian Chicken Thighs with Cannellini Beans & Fennel
Juicy Italian chicken thighs baked in one pot with fennel, pancetta and creamy cannellini beans. A simple, comforting Italian-style dinner packed with flavour.
Servings: 4
Calories: 1031kcal
Ingredients
- 150 g pancetta diced
- 1 fennel bulb stalks removed, then diced
- 1 red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 small bunch fresh oregano leaves only
- 800 g cannellini beans 2 x 400g cans - drained
- 400 ml chicken stock
- 8 chicken thighs bone-in, skin on
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- 120 g baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup parmigiano reggiano finely grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF
- Add the pancetta to a cold Dutch oven or ovenproof pot and turn on the heat to medium. Let them sizzle for 5 minutes to render out their fat. Pour out around half of the fat (keep for another use, such as frying eggs)
- Add the fennel, onion, garlic, and oregano, and gently saute for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the beans and stir well to combine, then pour in the chicken stock and season with one level teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper. Bring this to a simmer, then turn off the heat.
- Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the beans, skin side up, and then rub a little olive oil over the skins. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Bake in the oven, uncovered, for 1 hour until the skin is golden brown.
- Remove the chicken pieces and stir in the spinach leaves until wilted, followed by the grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Stir this until the sauce becomes creamy.
- Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up, and serve family-style from the pot.
Notes
Troubleshooting
- If the chicken sinks into the beans, ladle off a little liquid so the thighs sit above the sauce and roast properly.
- No oven-proof pot? Start the dish in a regular pot, then transfer the beans to a baking dish before adding the chicken and roasting.
- Use different chicken cuts such as a whole chicken, drumsticks, marylands or skin-on breasts (adjust cooking times as needed).
- Swap cannellini beans for other white beans like great northern, navy, butter (lima) or borlotti.
- Replace spinach with cooked kale, chard or bitter chicory.
- Try rosemary, thyme, marjoram or bay instead of oregano.
- Add a splash of white wine or vermouth with the onions for extra depth.
- Serve hot straight from the pan for maximum flavour.
- Crusty bread is ideal for mopping up the creamy sauce.
- Keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge; reheat until piping hot, adding a little water if the sauce thickens.
- Freeze in individual portions and reheat from frozen until hot throughout.
Nutrition
Calories: 1031kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 66g | Fat: 67g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 30g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 266mg | Sodium: 1454mg | Potassium: 1126mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3285IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 510mg | Iron: 8mg