Sailing, I'm reliably informed, makes you thirsty and hungry - and the thirst is deeper and the hunger greater during Cowes Week, the best-known regatta in the world.

Last year friends invited me to the Isle of Wight with the not very well hidden agenda that I would sort out their crew party. Every night during the week it's someone's turn to cook for a crew of ten or 11 hungry blokes and the turn is often extended into a party.

What's needed is robust, well-flavoured, satisfying food that's easy to eat and fills them up after a day on the water and before partying all night, then sailing again next day.

Some kind of theme is a good idea and dishes with lots of carbohydrate such as rice, potatoes or pasta and plenty of vegetables to add interest and eke out the meat work best. Spag bol with garlic bread, chilli con carne with beans and rice, Louisiana jambalaya with chicken, spicy sausage and highly seasoned rice, a giant paella or unusual stews such as this one, are perfect.

If the dish can be cooked and served in a very large pan and eaten from a bowl with a fork or spoon, all the better.

Plenty of crusty bread and a big salad with a simplified cheese board, such as a whole brie and a small truckle of Cheddar, will go down better than a pudding.

The useful thing about this Spanish-inspired Cocida-style stew is that it is easy to shop for and can be cooked in advance - in fact, the flavours will be better if it is made the day before.

It is also easily expanded, if the numbers swell, by lobbing in another can of tomatoes, another of chickpeas and a few extra chicken fillets. The downside, though, is that unless you have a very large Le Creuset-style pan, you will probably need to cook it in two or three pans, dividing ingredients equally.

The green beans, which add an essential grassy vivacity, and the little potatoes can also be cooked in advance, then added to the hot stew just before serving, turning it into a one-pot wonder.

Chicken, chorizo and chickpea stew

Ingredients

Serves 10-12

Prep: 60 mins

Cook: 60 mins

4 medium onions or 2 cans Eazy fried onions

8 large new season garlic cloves

8 tbsp olive oil

280g sliced chorizo or 300g chorizo extra piquant

2 chicken stock cubes

4 x 400g cans organic chickpeas

2kg chicken thigh fillets

2 glasses red wine, approx 350ml

4 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

2 x 300g jars roasted peppers in oil

1 lemon

Tomato ketchup or honey to taste

80g bunch coriander or flat-leaf parsley

2 x 400g fine green beans

2kg small new potatoes

Method

Peel, halve and finely slice the onion. Peel and slice the garlic in wafer-thin rounds. Heat the olive oil in a spacious, heavy-bottomed pan, stir in the onion and garlic, season with salt and cook covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 min until floppy. If using canned fried onions, halve the amount of olive oil and cook them for 10 min before proceeding.

If using chorizo from a whole sausage, run a sharp knife down one side to cut the skin and peel it away. Slice thinly. Dissolve the stock cubes in 1.2 litres of boiling water. Tip the chickpeas into a sieve or colander and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Cut the chicken into large, bite-size pieces. Stir the separated slices of chorizo into the onions, cook for a couple of minutes until it begins to release its oils and colours the onions, then add the chicken. Cook gently, stirring continuously for a few minutes until all the pieces have turned from pink to “white”, allowing about 10 min, then add the wine.

Increase the heat, let it boil up for a few minutes, while you slice the peppers into strips. Add peppers, tomatoes and stock to the pan. Return to the boil, immediately reduce the heat and leave to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 45 min until the chicken is tender and the vegetables have merged into a thick sauce. Stir the drained chickpeas into the stew, reheat, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and lemon juice, adding a slug of ketchup or honey if it needs it. Leave to cool then refrigerate until required.

Boil a kettle. Top and tail the beans and cut in half. Boil the beans for 2 min in two batches in plenty of salted water from the kettle. Drain and immediately immerse in a basin of cold water. Leave for 5 min, drain, bag up and chill until required. Boil the potatoes in salted water, drain, cool and keep, covered, in a cool place until needed.

To serve, slowly reheat the stew. At least 15 min before you are ready to serve, stir in the potatoes. Warm through then stir in the beans and chopped coriander or parsley. If more convenient, serve potatoes and beans separately, immersing them both, separately, in boiling water for several minutes to heat through.

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