vegetarian chilli

method

This is a lovely alternative to traditional chilli con carne. It's packed with good stuff so is a great choice for veggies and meat eaters alike.

Jamie’s top tips

Vary the types of beans you use in this recipe – it will change the flavour every time and keep things interesting.

Try swapping the chillies you use; substitute the green chilli for some hotter chillies to boost the heat.

This recipe freezes well so don’t be afraid to double the recipe and keep some for another day. I like to divide my leftovers into portions using plastic bags so I can easily pull one out of the freezer if I’m in a rush – just remember to label and date them before you put them in the freezer so you know exactly what it is and when you made it. If you lay the bags out flat they take much less time to defrost which is always a bonus.

To prepare the chilli
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks. Sprinkle with a pinch each of cayenne, cumin and cinnamon, drizzle with olive oil and scatter with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat then put them on a baking tray.
3. Peel and roughly chop the onion. Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers. Pick the coriander leaves and put aside, finely chop the stalks. Deseed and finely chop the chillies. Peel and finely chop the garlic.

To cook your chilli
4. Put the tray of sweet potato in the hot oven to cook for 40 minutes until soft and golden.
5. Put a large pan on a medium-high heat and add a couple lugs of olive oil. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coriander stalks, chilli and spices and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
6. Drain the cans of beans, then tip them into the pan with the tinned tomatoes. Stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce to a medium-low heat and leave to tick away for 25 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it, and add a splash of water if it gets a bit thick.

To serve your chilli
7. Get the roasted sweet potato out of the oven and stir it through your chilli with most of the coriander leaves. Taste and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, if needed.
8. Scatter the remaining leaves over the top, and serve with some soured cream, guacamole and rice or tortillas.

serves: 4 to 6

ingredients

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, (approximately 500g)
• 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
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• a bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 red chilli
• 1 green chilli
• 2 cloves of garlic 2 x 400g tins beans - try kidney, chickpea, pinto, cannellini 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes