Why I love this...
Who doesn't love a good chilli?! It's warming, filling, comforting and can be served with pretty much anything (or on its own). I make mine with a couple of less common additions like cocoa powder and port (which actually features in a lot of my tomato-based recipes) to make it extra rich! One of the things I love most about this is the low level of effort - the step by step means you do most of your prep as you go and once it's in the oven it needs minimal attention which means more time for fun stuff! I love to serve mine on a baked sweet potato with a bit of corn, avocado and a dollop of coconut yoghurt.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp Cooking oil (I use avocado)
1 Tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 Tsp Fennel seeds
1 Tbsp Brown sugar
1 Tbsp Cocoa powder
1 Tsp Ground coriander
1 1/2 Tsp Ground cumin
1 1/2 Tsp Ground smoked paprika
2 Tbsp Tomato puree
70 ml Port/Red wine or water (add a little extra sugar if using red wine or water)
2 x 400g tins of mixed beans
150g Carrot
1 Veggie Stockpot (Knorr) or stock cube
Equipment
Chopping board
Chopping knife
Casserole dish
Grater
Sieve
Tablespoon
Teaspoon
Wooden spoon to stir
Measuring jug or scale
Appliances: Hob & Oven
Preparation
Pre-heat your oven to 180ยบ fan whilst preparing
Put the oil in your cassrole dish and put on a medium heat. Add cumin and fennel seeds and stir. Leave to heat for a couple of minutes and meanwhile finely chop your onion
Add the onion to the dish and leave to soften, stirring occasionally. Whilst waiting, peel and grate your carrot.
When the onions are soft add the brown sugar and let it caramilise the onions slightly. Then stir in the spices and cocoa powder and cook for 1 minute before stirring through the tomato puree and then adding the port or wine. Reduce for a couple of minutes.
Take this time to strain and rinse your beans, then add these and the carrot to the pan. Add the tomoato, one tin's worth of water and give everything a good stir. Pierce the chilli a few times and drop it in the pot. Lastly, stir in the stockpot or cube, pop the lid on and bring to a boil. Then put it in the oven.
Go and do something else whilst your chilli cooks away :-)
After 40 minutes, give it a stir and then again at 70 minutes. At this point it should be nearly done, but may need to reduce so pop it back in the oven without the lid for 10 minutes.
Top Tip: Do taste when you stir and adjust the spices and salt level.