Chicken with English mustard and broad beans

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I had the idea for this while we were in Cornwall, think its my obsession with broad beans that led to it, perhaps that and my liking for spicy things - which includes large quantities of Coleman's English mustard (the only English mustard that makes me sneeze so much, and I do quite like sneezing).

Now, a slow cook style dish isn't normally a summer time dish, but the sauce in this one is light and the dish goes very well with a side salad so it's a good one for this time of year, and the slow cooker was used only really for convenience while I was at work.

Alternatively, you could use pan fried chicken breast, make the sauce separately in a pan and serve it over the top of the chicken, but I especially like the tastiness and tenderness of the slow cooked chicken thighs - plus their bones add something extra to the sauce of course.

Don't forget, shelling broad beans is a right pain in the backside, make sure you leave enough time to do it ahead of when you need them.

For two:

Four chicken thighs, skin on, bones in

250g shelled broad beans (I boil in water for a few minutes, then drain and cool with cold water so they're cool enough to handle)

6 peeled shallots

2 heaped tablespoons English mustard

1 heaped tablespoon soft brown sugar

500mls white wine (dry or medium is fine, something with body really)

250mls water

50g butter

Groundnut or vegetable oil for frying

A small handful of fresh tarragon, finely chopped

Salt and black pepper

Side salad with a sharp vinaigrette to serve

Method:

- Put a frying pan on to a medium to high heat and add some cooking oil

- Season the chicken thigh skin with salt and pepper, and add to the pan skin side down, along with the shallots

- Cook for around 6 minutes, turning just once - you're looking for the chicken and shallot skin to colour a rich golden brown, which will add lots of great flavour to the sauce

- Transfer the chicken and shallots to the slow cooker pot

- Add the wine to the frying pan to deglaze, then stir in the mustard and brown sugar

- Add the wine mixture to the cooker pot

- Add some more salt and black pepper, and the water and turn on a low setting for around 5-6 hours

- You're looking for the chicken to become really tender but not to fall apart off the bone or for the skin to fall off

- When it's ready, remove the chicken carefully and strain the sauce through a sieve back into a pan that's on a low heat - discard the shallots at this point

- Add the broad beans to the sauce along with the tarragon, taste for seasoning, you might want a bit of lemon to cut through, some more salt or even a dash more sugar, just see what your taste buds feel it needs

- Add the chicken back to the sauce to heat through for a few minutes on a gentle heat

- Serve with salad and bread to mop up the juices