Warm a large frying pan (or casserole dish if you’re cooking the braise on the hob) for 2 mins, then add 1 tbsp olive oil and the chicken thighs, skin-side down. Fry for 4-5 mins till golden, then turn over and fry for a further 4-5 mins.

While the chicken thighs fry, peel and finely chop the onion. Halve the pepper, scoop out the seeds and white pith, and roughly chop the pepper. Peel the sweet potatoes and roughly chop them. From this point, follow the method either for the slow cooker or the hob.

In the slow cooker^ Lift the chicken thighs out of the frying pan and pop them into a 3½ ltr slow cooker. Add the chopped onion, pepper and sweet potatoes to the slow cooker. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Peel and crush or grate the garlic cloves. Finely chop the chilli, flicking out the seeds and white pith if you prefer less heat (or you can leave the chilli out all together if you want a milder meal). Add the garlic and chilli to the slow cooker with 2 tsp each dried oregano and ground cumin.

Crumble in the chicken stock cube. Give everything a few gentle stirs to mix. Tip in the chopped tomatoes. Half-fill the tin with water (around 200ml) and tip that in. Set the slow cooker to medium and cook the braise for 6 hrs. For a faster stew, use the high set and cook for 4 hrs or take your time and cook it for 8 hrs at low.

Taste the braise and season with a pinch more salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Ladle the chicken thighs and veg into warm shallow bowls and serve straight away.

On the hob^ Lift the chicken thighs out of the casserole dish and pop them on a plate. Add the onion, pepper and sweet potato to the dish with 2 tbsp water. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 5 mins, stirring now and then, till the veg start to pick up a little colour.

While the veg fry, peel and crush or grate the garlic cloves. Finely chop the chilli, flicking out the seeds and white pith if you prefer less heat (or you can leave the chilli out all together if you want a milder meal). Add the garlic and chilli to the dish with 2 tsp each dried oregano and ground cumin.

Crumble in the chicken stock cube. Tip in the chopped tomatoes. Fill the tin with water (around 400ml) and tip that in. Carefully return the chicken thighs to the dish. Pop on a lid and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 hr.

Taste the braise and season with a pinch more salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Ladle the chicken thighs and veg into warm shallow bowls and serve straight away.