COOK WITH LOOPWARE
MEAL · MEAL-017Test Kitchen
Italian Chicken, Pepper & Mushroom Pot
Chicken, sweet pepper and mushrooms are everyday Italian partners for tomato, garlic and oregano. Potato gives the sauce enough body for one complete, comforting dinner.
Ingredients
- — All in —
- 230 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
- ½ onion (about 80 g), sliced
- 130 g bell pepper, cut into 1 cm strips
- 80 g chestnut mushrooms, cut in half, or into quarters if large
- 2½ potatoes (about 370 g), peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
- 1½ garlic cloves, sliced
- 0.5 g dried oregano, weighed before adding
- 2¾ tsp tomato purée, straight from the tube
- 180 ml water, poured from a measuring jug
- 7.2 g salt (about 1¼ tsp), spooned level
- — Finish up —
- 1 tsp olive oil, spooned
Method
- Pour the water into the cold 1.6 L container first — a wet base cannot catch. Then everything except olive oil: boneless chicken thighs, onion, bell pepper, chestnut mushrooms, potato, garlic, dried oregano, tomato purée and salt. Give it all a good stir and level it. Cooking lid on loose.
- Set the heat once: very gentle — about 4 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 1 on a portable hob; slow-cooker territory (see Heat below) — and set a timer for 63 minutes. On a plug-in portable hob, level 1 runs gentler on this pot — set the timer for 97 minutes there instead. Constant watching is not needed, but an occasional stir keeps anything from catching on the base — especially if you ever smell burning. Alternatively, if time is pressed: bring it to the boil on a higher heat — about 6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob — stirring now and then; that takes about 18–31 minutes. As soon as it boils, turn it back down to the gentle setting and set a timer for 21 minutes: about 39–51 minutes in all instead of 63. Do not leave it on the higher heat once it is boiling.
- When the timer goes off, check: the chicken is tender and the potato, pepper and mushrooms are soft. Not there yet? Cooking lid back on loose; set a timer for 5 more minutes and check again.
- Off the heat: stir in the olive oil. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve from the container.
- To reheat from the fridge: storage lid off, cooking lid on loose, add 30 ml water if the sauce has set firm, and use a gentle-to-medium heat — about 4–6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob. Set a timer for 15 minutes; stir, then give it 10 minutes more until it is bubbling all over and piping hot right through. From frozen: add 50 ml water around the block, cooking lid on loose, use the same gentle heat for 33 minutes; loosen and stir, then give it 21 minutes more until bubbling all over and piping hot right through.
Heat
| Stage | Heat into the pan | Induction hob (settings 1–9) | Portable induction hob | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook — one setting, start to finish | about 78–190 W (very gentle — slow-cooker territory) | about 4 of 9 | level 1 (the 114 W setting) | the quietest simmer: an occasional bubble, steady wisps of steam; liquid always covers the base |
| Reheat from the fridge or from frozen | gentle to medium | about 4–5 of 9 | level 2 (the 285 W setting) | bubbling all over and piping hot right through |
Hob settings are not standard — the same number means different heat on different hobs. The power figures show how hard the pan is actually being heated. The settings shown are for a typical fitted induction hob with settings 1–9, and for a plug-in portable induction hob with power settings. Go by what you see in the pan, then remember the setting that gave it on your own hob.
Cook’s checks
- Chicken tender with no pink at the centre; potato, pepper and mushrooms soft; tomato sauce still mobile; bottom clean.
- Nearly dry before tender: add 30 ml hot water. Still firm at the top of the window: 5 more minutes, lid on.
- Cook with the cooking lid loose or vented; never heat with a friction-fit storage lid sealed. Container and lid get very hot — cloth or oven gloves.
- Test Kitchen recipes are created by our recipe creation team and are awaiting our kitchen team to capture the recipe's visual representation.
Nutrition
| Serving | Calories | Protein | Fat | Saturates | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Fibre | Salt / sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 609 kcal | 43 g | 12 g | 2.7 g | 81 g | 14.1 g | 11.9 g | 3.1 g sodium (7.8 g salt) |
Nutrition information is provided for general reference only. Values are estimates based on typical ingredient data and will vary with brands, cuts, portion sizes and preparation. They are not intended as precise nutritional, dietary or medical guidance.