Veggie Chilli

This is a recipe that I nabbed from Jamie O. I’ve made it a bit simpler by letting Mr Tesco provide the ingredients where possible.

1 level teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra for sprinkling

1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin, plus extra for sprinkling

1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling

olive oil

1 onion

Packet of frozen peppers or 2 mixed-colour peppers

Packet of sweet potato

Frozen garlic, 2 teaspoons worth or 2 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of fresh coriander (30g)

2 fresh mixed-colour chillies

3 x 400g tins of beans, such as kidney, chickpea, pinto, cannellini

3 x 400g tins of quality plum tomatoes

lime or lemon juice, or vinegar, to taste

• Roast the sweet potato on a baking tray with oil and a sprinkled teaspoon each of of cayenne pepper, cumin and cinnamon.
• Peel and roughly chop the onion. Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers, then peel and finely slice the garlic.
• Pick the coriander leaves, finely chopping the stalks. Deseed and finely chop the chillies.
• Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat, then add the onion, peppers and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Add the coriander stalks, chillies and spices, and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, or until softened and starting to caramelise, stirring occasionally.
• Add the beans, juice and all. Tip in the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon, then stir well.
• Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and leave to tick away for 25 to 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced – keep an eye on it, and add a splash of water to loosen, if needed.
• Stir the roasted sweet potato through the chilli with most of the coriander leaves, then taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
• Finish with a squeeze of lime or lemon juice or a swig of vinegar, to taste, then scatter over the remaining coriander. Delicious served with yoghurt or soured cream, guacamole and rice, or tortilla chips.

It’s a basic and humbling recipe that permits a lot of flexibility. It’s super healthy and tasty. You can make it as spicy as you want!