Spicy veggie & bean chilli recipe

This recipe was born one chilli (get it?) January night, when I was craving a rich hearty chilli con carne, but a) had no mince in the house and b) could not muster the effort to go to the shop. So I delved instead into the kitchen cupboard reserves of tinned beans, topped it up with some veggies, added tomatoes, spices, and chillies, and was extremely pleased with the result. (Especially as I had enough over for 2 lunches!)

It’s rich, smoky and satisfyingly savoury, despite all the lovely sweet veggies. I even convinced a very reluctant fiancé that it’s good! (With a little encouragement and a LOT of cheese. But you can’t win em all!)

In fact, I was so pleased with the flavour that I didn’t miss the meat at all, and aside from what you serve it with (yogurt or cheese), it’s not only a vegetarian recipe, but a vegan one too! A very happy coincidence, as I want to start making some better choices about the food I eat. So naturally, I felt obliged to share this little discovery with you all – and I’d love to know what you think!

Without any further ado – the recipe.

Spicy veggie & bean chilli recipe

I know – the ingredients list on this is HUGE. But bear with me, it’s worth it. I promise.

Note – please be careful when handling chillies! Wear gloves if you have sensitive skin, and for goodness sake DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES! The amount of times I have done this… OUCH!

Serves 4. Cooking time 40 mins (more if you have the time!)

You will need:
1 tin Mexican style mixed beans or kidney beans, drained
1 tin pinto beans, drained
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 carrot, grated
2 peppers, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1 dried chipotle chilli
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 vegetable stock cube, made with 300ml water
4 tbsp tomato puree
2 squares dark chocolate
1 tbsp rapeseed oil

Method
Boil the kettle. Put the dried chipotle chilli into a bowl and cover with the boiled water. Leave to soak while you prepare the veg.
Prepare the carrot, peppers, chilli if using and garlic.
Heat the oil in a casserole pan over a low heat, with the garlic and chopped chilli. Drain the chipotle chilli, finely chop, and add this in too.
Add the pepper and carrot, turn up the heat and fry for 5 minutes.
Add in the rest of the ingredients, and mix together well.
Put a lid on, and bring it to the boil.
Turn down the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour – the longer it cooks, the more intense the flavours!
To thicken the sauce, remove the lid 15 minutes before its done cooking to let the liquid evaporate.
Serve with rice, a dollop of natural yogurt (I like Fage 0%) and a cheeky sprinkle of cheese! Yum!