Mums vegetarian chilli
Now this is something that takes me back to my childhood! My mum makes such a good veggie chilli...so you have her to thank for this! This is a great one to make for meal prep as it freezes really well, it's full of natural goodness, the kidney beans form a good source of natural protein whilst still being naturally low-fat. Also, if you are coeliac you can substitute the rice for cauliflower rice/quinoa/jacket potato or roasted sweet potato (and if you have any other suggestions I'd love to hear from you!!). There is one secret ingredient in this dish....CHOCOLATE!!
You will need:
1 x brown onion, diced
2 x cloves of garlic, crushed
1 x courgette (zucchini), sliced
1 x red pepper, roughly chopped
1 x yellow pepper
1 x large red chilli sliced
10 x button mushrooms, quartered
10 cherry tomatoes, whole
400g of chopped tinned tomatoes
400g of passata
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1-2 tsp chilli powder or flakes
3-4 squares of plain dark chocolate or a sprinkling of cocoa
Brown rice**optional
Herbs: I used chopped parsley and topped with spinach
Seasoning
Serves 4-6
Method:
Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C.
In a deep pan cook off the onion and garlic in oil (I like olive or coconut oil).
Add in the fresh chilli, courgette and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes before adding in the red and yellow peppers. Cook off for a few minutes.
Add in the tomato paste, chilli powder, red kidney beans, passata and the chopped tomatoes. Give it a good stir and add some salt and pepper.
Add in the cherry tomatoes.
If the ingredients are not all covered by the sauce then top up the mixture with filtered water.
Add in the kidney beans and the chocolate.
Cook for a good 10 minutes and be careful it doesn't reduce too much. Taste and add more chilli or seasoning if necessary.
Transfer the mixture into a lidded baking dish and pop in the oven. Cook for 30 - 45 minutes on 150 degrees...be careful it doesn't reduce too much (check it every 15 minutes). **see notes for a quicker cooking option.
Pour the chilli over brown rice (or any of the other suggestions above).
Season to taste.
Serve with fresh herbs and spinach.
Enjoy x x
Notes:
I find this is a dish that gets better with age! By cooking it in the oven I find the flavours combine really well and the sauce reduces to a nice thick consistency, however this is not necessary if you are in a rush you can just continue to cook it on the hob for an extra 10 minutes at least (so 20 minutes in total). I don't think the end result is as nice and rich, but I understand that sometimes we just don't have the time!
This is awesome the next day and can be frozen into batches for your freezer stock.
Feel free to add in extra pulses such as lentils and chickpeas.
