Double or triple this recipe if you’ve got the ingredients, portion it up, and freeze for future meals. Just remember – if you’re batch cooking, let food cool thoroughly before freezing – break it down into portions so it cools quicker, and get it into the freezer within 2 hours. And make sure everything is well wrapped, and labelled for future reference so you’re not playing freezer roulette! Simply thaw in the fridge before use, and use within 48 hours. If you’ve frozen cooked food, don’t freeze it again after reheating it.
1 hr
Super easy
serves 4
About the recipe
This versatile veggie chilli is a hearty, delicious alternative to traditional chilli con carne that can be tweaked depending on what you have. It also happens to be vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free!
Ingredients
500g sweet potatoes
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
2 mixed-colour peppers
2 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh coriander (30g)
2 fresh mixed-colour chillies
2 x 400g tins of beans, such as kidney, chickpea, pinto, cannellini
2 x 400g tins of quality plum tomatoes
lime or lemon juice, or vinegar, to taste
Top Tip
A fresh tomato salsa or a sprinkling of chopped nuts would finish this dish off nicely.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
- Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into bite-sized chunks, then place onto a baking tray.
- Sprinkle with a pinch each of cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper, drizzle with oil then toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden and tender.
- 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.
Use butternut squash or regular potatoes instead of sweet potatoes. No onions? Try using a leek or a few spring onions. I’ve used cayenne pepper here, but paprika would be equally delicious. Also, you can use fresh basil in place of coriander, or leave the herbs out altogether.
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